Ideal Girl
by Cuthbert72
Summary: This is the whole story of Cassie's more than somewhat rough ride to eventual happiness with Sid, and why they are so good for each other. Some of it is canon and some of it is A/U. I have downloaded Skins dialogue in places. It goes some way to show why Cassie is Sid's 'Ideal Girl', and fills the gap between his finding her in New York and Series 7.
1. Chapter 1: First Impressions

**Chapter 1: First Impressions**

Sid was more than somewhat shy. He also felt that he was expected to live up to the 'moral code' suggested to him and observed by his parents. This was at least, in part, why he, almost alone amongst his peers, had no regular girlfriend. True, he was on very friendly, even affectionate, terms with Michelle. The problem was that she was Tony's regular girlfriend. Tony and Michelle were on more than affectionate terms, in fact, they were intimate with each other. Making things more complicated, Tony was also Sid's closest friend.

Tony, understandably, was not all that happy with this situation as he felt that he was becoming one corner of a 'love triangle'. he also felt that his best friend, Sid, should at least, by now, have been intimate with a girl. After all, he was nearly sixteen, and Tony felt that this was the age by which he should be having carnal knowledge of a woman. Because of his 'moral code', Sid didn't see it this way. He was of the opinion that he should remain a virgin at least until he was in a steady relationship with a girl he trusted. This was proving difficult, if not impossible, as he was not on any kind of terms with any girl except Michelle, his best friend's girlfriend. As this relationship, although intense and loving, was purely platonic, he felt that he was going to remain a virgin for the foreseeable future, and probably quite a bit longer. He did, of course, pleasure himself with images of naked girls in magazines, and his own imagination, which often included visualising Michelle's naked body in his mind.

One morning, Tony decided to take steps to change this situation. After all, he told Sid, he found it embarrassing to have a sixteen-year-old best friend, who was still a virgin, and hadn't actually shagged a girl. Once he was up, dressed and breakfasted, he went out. On his way to Roundview sixth form college, he called all his close friends, including Sid. After drawing a blank with most of them, he arranged to meet Sid and his girlfriend, Michelle in a local café. Over a second (fried) breakfast, Tony hatched a plan to get a girl so drugged up that she would not mind Sid having sex with her, so some drugs would have to be obtained. The question was then asked "Who was 'stupid' enough to fuck Sid?". The suggestion was then made that the only girl 'stupid' enough to fuck Sid was Cassie, who had recently been discharged from hospital following an apparent suicide attempt. In support of the first plan, Sid was dispatched to obtain an ounce of Cannabis from a dealer, known to Tony, in a remote area of Bristol.

Cassie was generally known as an 'anorexic headcase', with little or no sense of self-worth, and frequent depressive episodes, often leading to suicidal thoughts. She was also assumed to be sexually promiscuous. As already stated, she was also thought to be 'stupid' enough to be tricked into having sex with the more than somewhat inhibited Sid.

The venue for the set-up was to be at an all-night party at the house of one of Tony's posh friends, Abigail Stock, who attended the private girls' school over the green from Roundview. Tony was to bring Sid to the party, while Michelle would bring Cassie.

Michelle arranged to meet Cassie on College green at four in the afternoon. She got the time wrong and didn't turn up until five. Surprisingly, she was only too happy to let Sid shag her at that evening's party. This meant that the cannabis would not, after all, be needed.

The evening arrived. Tony waited with Sid for Michelle and Cassie to arrive before they went in to the party. After a while, Michelle turned up. On her arm was Cassie. Sid's eyes lit up when he caught sight of her. Far from being the rather drab, depressed looking, washed out looking girl he was expecting (Carrie in the Stephen King film comes to mind.), There was this bright, beautiful young lady with lively brown eyes, cascades of wavy blonde hair and a smile dazzling enough to light up any room she entered. She was wearing a black long-sleeved cardigan. Her reaction to being introduced to Sid was unexpected, but welcome.

"Yeah, wow, lovely No. But I like that you're funny-Iooking." she said when Tony introduced her to Sid.

Sid was enchanted by her gentle musical voice and her smile. He began, at last, to feel relaxed, after being on edge for most of the preceding day. They went in to Abigail's house. As they entered, Abigail requested that they remove their shoes, as the carpets were imported and expensive. Cassie asked where the kitchen was, and disappeared towards it. A short time after the dancing started, Sid followed her, and found her rearranging all the cans and jars of food in the pantry.

She explained that food wasn't for eating, but had to be arranged properly. This baffled Sid, as he had a more normal attitude to food. Once Cassie had finished her reorganization of the larder, she exchanged a few pleasantries with Sid. He was being gradually won over by the sound of her voice. However, his heart and his mind were in serious conflict. At one point, his heart did momentarily get the upper hand, and he was impelled to move Cassie's golden hair out of the way and kiss her cheek. The gentle smile this action produced would have melted the hardest heart. Sid was just beginning to feel love for this slightly strange, but extraordinarily beautiful girl. It slightly worried Sid that Cassie seemed to know why she was there.

"So, are you going to fuck me later?" asked Cassie.

"Pardon?" said Sid, surprised.

"You know." said Cassie, "Like Michelle said."

"She said that?" asked Sid.

"Oh, yes." said Cassie.

Sid was surprised, but reassured that Cassie was apparently ready for what might be about to happen that evening.

His heart received another boost, when Cassie removed her black cardigan, revealing that her gold striped dress was sleeveless and completely backless. the sight of her slender arms, and the perfect skin of her elegant back gave him a frisson the like of which he had never experienced before. He gasped audibly. _"Everything about this girl is so amazingly beautiful!"_ he mused to himself.

"I think you enjoyed that." said Cassie, smiling broadly and noting Sid's reaction, "I guess you'd like me to go further."

Sid was almost speechless. here was the most beautiful girl he had ever met suggesting that he would like to see the rest of what was under her dress. What Sid did not know was that, apart from her stockings, the dress was the only garment she was wearing.

"I - I - er" was, for the moment, all that Sid could say. He was blushing scarlet.

"Sorry, Sidney," said Cassie, I've obviously embarrassed you. For the time being, I'll let you enjoy what you can see of me.

About this time, the party was disrupted by the arrival of three more of Tony's friends: Anwar, Maxxie and Chris, who had spent the first part of the evening at a gay bar known to Maxxie. Chris took off his shirt, and on being requested to remove his shoes, took down his trousers. He then got very friendly with a Polish girl called Danuta.

During the course of the night, Sid and Cassie would come together and have a number of fairly inconsequential conversations. Sid and Cassie also spent some time in the living room with the rest of the party guests. The whole time, his mind, and his negative thoughts about Cassie were fighting with his heart, which was telling him to 'go for this girl'. What was becoming abundantly clear to Sid was that, far from being 'stupid', Cassie was bright, gentle, intelligent and remarkably perceptive.

Some considerable time after sunrise the next morning, Sid found Cassie bouncing on the garden trampoline, saying "Wow! Oh! Wow. This is lovely, lovely, lovely. Wow Waoo! "

"Cassie?" said Sid, "You OK?"

"Get up here." said Cassie, "You've got to, got to bounce."

He was finding her more and more attractive by the minute. The sheer joy she displayed while she was bouncing made his heart sing. However, he was not yet ready to do to her what Tony had suggested. He felt that he would like to really get to know her as a person, and as a friend, before he made any serious physical moves on her.

Urged on by her enthusiasm, Sid climbed up onto the trampoline, and started jumping up and down. Not being used to trampolines, he fell over after two or three jumps. He nearly fell on top of Cassie. While he was supporting himself on his arms, so as not to actually fall on top of Cassie, she propped herself up on her elbows and kissed him on the lips. He was surprised, but pleased by this gesture. He felt that it was an indication that Cassie was beginning to regard him with something a lot more than mere friendship.

"It's no good though, Sid." said Cassie, "Is it?"

"What?" said Sid, "What is?"

"You fancy me?" said Cassie, placing her forefinger on Sid's nose.

"I Sure." said Sid.

"But you really love Michelle." continued Cassie

"It shows?" said Sid.

"Fucking right it shows." said Cassie, "Anyway, she told me."

"She told you?" responded Sid, "Oh, fuck!"

"She said that Tony doesn't love her properly," said Cassie, "But you do, and it's too fucked up because she totally loves him even though she thinks you're sweet."

"Sweet?" said Sid, sounding disgusted, "She thinks I'm sweet."

It was obvious that Sid did not like being regarded as 'sweet' one little bit.

There then followed an intense heart-to-heart discussion during which Sid managed, by chance, to get Cassie to reveal some of the thought processes behind her eating disorder. The more they talked; the more Sid's heart was shouting at him to go for this girl. However, his mind was considering her Anorexia, her tendency towards suicidal depression and her lack of self-worth. He was shutting out the urges from his heart, which were becoming more insistent, the more interaction he had with Cassie. His heart was already in love with her, but his mind was saying "NO!" very emphatically.

Before the party, Cassie had taken a number of, presumably, stimulant pills to help her get through the night, and to suppress her appetite. During this intense heart-to-heart conversation, she was having with Sid, the effects of them were beginning to wear off. She broached the subject of Sid losing his virginity.

"You wanna do it now?" asked Cassie, "Huh? I won't mind. But you'll have to be quick."

"Why?" asked Sid.

"Because I took a shit load of pills." explained Cassie.

"Pills?" asked Sid, "What kind of pills?"

"Oh, you know." said Cassie, "Pills."

At this point in the conversation, Cassie closed her eyes and lost consciousness.

"Cassie? Cassie." said Sid, alarmed, "Oh Oh, fuck."

Sid carried her back to the house using a fireman's lift. She had fallen into a very deep sleep. So profound was this, that Sid dumping her on the lawn like a sack of potatoes didn't even wake her up. Her friends were worried that she was going into a coma. Tony 'borrowed' a car and rushed her to hospital. When they arrived at the A and E department entrance, Cassie woke up, saying what a lovely dream she'd just had. She had only been deeply asleep.

Shortly after this, there was a chance meeting between Sid and Cassie on Brandon Hill. They had another conversation about Cassie's ideas regarding life and travel. She brought up the subject of food. Sid pointed out that he wanted her to be healthy, and didn't like it that she was often starving herself. Before they parted, they visited a 'Subway' café, as Sid wanted a drink and a snack. He persuaded Cassie to eat half of his footlong ham salad sandwich. This was the point at which Cassie realised that this rather ordinary looking boy did genuinely care about her and her well-being.

A couple of weeks later, it was Michelle's turn to host a sleepover party. In its aftermath, Cassie was getting messages via both post-it notes and SMS texts urging her to 'EAT!'. She suspected these were coming from Sid, whose affection for was growing by the day. Each time she received one of these messages, she would delete it. It was not surprising therefore, that there were no 'eat' messages on her phone, when she confronted Sid about the texts. He looked at her phone, found nothing and told her. Her reaction was unexpected and Sid's unthinking response almost unforgiveable.

"I - I thought you liked me." said Cassie, with an expression of disappointment on her sweet face

All Sid found he could say in reply was "What!?"

You can't blame Cassie for running away in tears. By that one unthinking word, 'What!?', Sid had shattered her dreams of a promising relationship with him.

The next few weeks were difficult for Sid, as he realised he had undermined the trust Cassie was beginning to put in him. As a result of his visit to Mad Twatter to obtain some cannabis, he was now being chased by the drug dealer for three hundred pounds. His promising relationship with Cassie was now cooler, in fact, they were almost keeping each other at 'arm's length'. The drug dealer problem was resolved after Ronnie Fazer's musical evening, but not before Mad Twatter had destroyed Jal's precious clarinet, having assumed that Jal was Sid's girlfriend. This incident was probably what got Mad Twatter off Sid's back. Ronnie Fazer was now involved, and Mad Twatter not only had to forego the money Sid owed him, but also had to pay to replace Jal's musical instrument. It was probably fortunate that Cassie wasn't with Sid on that particular evening, as she might have been beaten up and disfigured by Mad Twatter's thugs.

The friendship between Sid and Cassie bumped along at a fairly low level for a while until Chris invited the 'gang' to watch some naughty videos. During an interval in the proceedings, Sid went for a 'call of nature'. Cassie cornered him and asked him for a date. It appeared that things were beginning to look brighter for a change, but having said that, the course of true love rarely runs smoothly.


	2. Chapter 2: A Bumpy Ride

**Chapter 2: A bumpy Ride**

**This chapter is a bit longer and is basically in canon. It follows the Sid/Cassie relationship through to Cassie's exile in Scotland. It also records the parallel happenings in the Tony/Michelle and Chris/Angie relationships.**

The evening of the 'date' between Sid and Cassie was approaching. However, Sid had a problem. He was very much behind in his History course work, and an essay about Lech Walesa and the Polish Solidarity movement was more than somewhat overdue. The History tutor called Sid's parents in for a meeting about their son's work. A deadline was set for the completion of the essay, and Sid's father grounded him until it was finished. What Mark Jenkins didn't realise was that this would prevent Sid from going on his proposed first proper date with his sweet Cassie. Later that day, he met Her in college and told her about the situation. She accepted, and said she might call on Sid that evening anyway. Another factor was the hold Tony had over Sid, who he still regarded as his somewhat dumb sidekick. That evening, Tony was to sing at a choir concert at the private girls' school over the green from Roundview. In fact, he would be singing a duet with Abigail Stock. Michelle would also be at the concert.

Tony was intending to spend the latter part of the evening, and possibly the night with Abigail, whom he found physically attractive. Obviously, he would want Michelle to be out of the way. This is why he called on Sid and 'twisted his arm' to go to the choir concert with him. Sid was not getting very far with his assignment, and felt that a break might do him some good. What he didn't know was Tony's real reason for wanting him there, which was to 'pick up the pieces' after the inevitable staged row he was going to have with Michelle.

The duet between Tony and Abigail happened just before the interval. Michelle, understandably became very jealous, and stormed into Tony's dressing room, followed by Sid and Chris. When she burst into the dressing room, she found Tony and Abigail in a state of partial undress, with Tony's hand apparently caressing Abigail's bare midriff. Tony made an excuse about checking Abigail's diaphragm contractions. Michelle exploded with rage. Abigail responded with a tirade of obscene insults, which surprised everyone. Sid even commented "Good swearing!". One of the insults was to call Michelle a 'horse-fucker'. Michelle made an angry exit, storming right out of the hall. On his way out, following Michelle, Sid mentioned to Abigail, as he passed her, that Michelle would never fuck a horse.

On her way home, Michelle, who was striding along with her arms folded looking angry, encountered a gang of drunken girls who were looking for trouble. They refused to let her pass. By the time Sid arrived, they were beating her up. He intervened, letting Michelle escape, but he was beaten up himself, and lost consciousness. He was brought back to the land of the living by a vagrant urinating on him. He got up and went home. Some evening that was! However, his troubles were not yet over.

He limped back to his house and opened the front door. He tried to go upstairs silently, but stumbled, alerting his father, who was very angry because he had still gone out despite being grounded. This triggered a blazing row between his parents, Sid went upstairs to find a very agitated Cassie in his bedroom. She asked what the smell was. He explained that it was someone else's piss. He also said that he was out. When Cassie asked him "Who with?", he gave the worst possible answer: "Michelle.". Cassie now felt hurt and betrayed. After pointing out to Sid that whatever happened was his choice, she stormed out, slamming the door. It seemed that by doing his best friend, Tony a favour, he had lost his beautiful potential girlfriend, and alienated both his parents. Things could not get worse, he thought.

Oh yes, they could! The next morning, Sid's mother drove him to college, and explained that she was leaving his father. She implored Sid to try to get on with him. When he reached the college, he arrived in the history class and was told off, not only for his delayed coursework, but also for wearing sunglasses in class. Removing them revealed that he had a black eye, and earned him another reprimand for fighting. He also realised that Michelle had not come to college.

What followed next was a particularly unfortunate sequence of events. Tony persuaded Sid to phone Michelle to see if she was alright. Once he had calmed her down, he arranged to meet her at lunchtime in Ronnie Fazer's bar. Cassie was standing at the end of a line of lockers, and overheard Sid's half of the conversation. She drew her own conclusions, that Sid had betrayed her with Michelle, and that she no longer had any future with him - or with anyone. Her heart was shattered. She walked away.

Sid met Michelle, as arranged, and they got talking, settling their differences. After a while, one of Michelle's favourite tracks came up on the music system and the couple danced to it. This might have been okay, but for the arrival of Tony, who reclaimed Michelle, leaving Sid on his own. Could things get any worse for Sid?

Yes! They could - and did. While Tony was making it up with Michelle over his actions during the previous twenty-four hours, Sid tried to phone Cassie, only to have the call answered by Jal, from an ambulance.

Cassie had gathered together as many pills as she could muster, added a bottle of vodka, and gone up to one of her favourite benches on Brandon Hill. For some time, she contemplated the view of Bristol from this vantage point, while preparing herself for death. She took the pills, washing them down with the vodka, which she squirted into her mouth using Sid's little water pistol. When she had swallowed all the pills, a melancholy waltz came into her head. She got up onto the bench, and danced round and round to it, until she lost consciousness. But for Jal's chance arrival shortly afterwards, she could have died of her overdose. Jal called an ambulance and travelled with the comatose Cassie to hospital. It was on this journey that Cassie's phone rang. Jal answered it and explained the situation. Sid went to the hospital, but was soon ordered out as he was not a family member. Jal had lied that she was Cassie's sister.

Sid was now in the worst situation that he could envisage. He felt he had blown his potential relationship with the most beautiful girl he was ever likely to meet. He was no longer on good terms with Michelle and no longer trusted Tony. He did the only thing within his power to improve things. While he was powerless to do anything about his social life and his relationships, he could, at least do something about his History coursework. He worked through the night on his Lech Walesa essay, so that he could present it in the morning.

A couple of days later, Jal was sitting at Cassie's hospital bedside. She was standing in for Marcus, Cassie's father as he was in London arranging the sale of a painting, Margherita was at home, looking after little Reuben. Cassie regained consciousness and wanted to know where she was. Jal explained what had happened and persuaded Cassie that the goings-on involving Michelle and Sid at the choir concert, were the result of a situation deliberately set up by Tony, so he could spend the night with Abigail. She did also persuade Cassie that Sid still loved her, and that the events of the previous week had broken his heart as well. Cassie realised that she could not do much to restore the situation as she was almost certain to have to spend several weeks in the clinic before she she could sort things out with Sid.

Sid, meanwhile was throwing himself into his college work, in order to divert his thoughts from the state of his relationship with Cassie. One major diversion was a field trip to Russia to see what life was like in that country. This excursion proved significant for a number of reasons. A conspiracy he entered into with Anwar to seduce a young Russian girl called Anka did, at least, serve to keep his mind occupied for a lot of the time. Another successful foray into the bed department was Chris, finally managing to seduce the psychology tutor, Angie. The trip was also the last straw in Michelle's relationship with Tony, as she witnessed him performing a gay sex act with a naked Maxxie. Tony had assumed that she was 'out for the count' after a somewhat drunken evening in a local bar, but she was conscious enough to realise what was happening. On their return from Russia, Michelle threatened to dump Tony, unless he declared that he totally loved her, hopefully to the exclusion of anyone else, particularly Abigail. Tony was not able to commit himself, so it appeared that his intense and long-standing relationship with Michelle was over.

Michelle decided that, having dumped Tony, her future might lie with Sid. He did, after all, love her, and had had a crush on her for nearly as long as she had known Tony. She called on him, only to find that his heart was now with Cassie, who at the time was incarcerated in the Restoration Clinic. She took him to visit the clinic, only to find that Cassie was now apparently in a relationship with a young lad called Simon, one of the other patients. While Sid was talking to Cassie, Michelle arranged a date with Josh, the son of the clinic's proprietor, and Abigail's brother. They were to meet one lunchtime at Mud Dock, an upstairs café by the Floating Harbour.

By coincidence, Tony was in the café at the time, and saw Michelle leaving with Josh, obviously going somewhere where they could be intimate with each other. Tony decided to take some somewhat ill-advised action. He persuaded Abigail to strip naked, and took some photographs of her body on the pretext that he was doing a project concerning the human body. He then arranged to have Josh's mobile phone stolen, and used it to send some of these pictures to all Josh's contacts, including Michelle. While this worked with Michelle up to a point, in that it did have the intended effect of turning her against Josh. However, Josh did not take this lying down. He arranged for Tony's sister Effy to be abducted, and lured Tony to the Ston Eaton Sports club where he was to try to get Tony to rape his own sister while she was drugged unconscious. Before this, however, Tony had been driving around Bristol with Sid desperately looking for his missing sister. While he was searching, Sid kept on catching sight of Cassie, but she disappeared as soon as she sensed that he'd seen her. Tony received a message from Effy's abductors luring him to Cumberland Basin. When Sid and Tony got there, there was no-one around. He taunted Sid about having a girlfriend who tried to kill herself. Sid saw red, had a fight with Tony and stormed off, leaving Him stranded.

Sid, feeling lonely, having now lost both his girlfriend and his best friend, went to an all-night café to calm down. At this point, he had his only good idea of the night. He phoned Cassie. After a while, she arrived at the café and Sid started to try to set things right between them. They embraced and kissed, and started to make up their differences. Unfortunately, their potential reconciliation was interrupted by a phone call from Michelle. It's a pity the saying 'Two pairs of eyes are better than one.' didn't occur to Sid. Michelle wanted him to find Tony, who was in some sort of trouble. Despite the fight, and his fractured relationship with his best friend, Sid said "I've got to go", and went off to help Tony, leaving Cassie in tears in the café, nursing a broken heart once again. She was beginning to feel that Sid, despite his apparent feelings for her, was just cruelly 'playing' with her emotions.

For the next week or two, nobody was happy. Tony was being avoided by his friends, who saw him as the guilty party in the spat with Michelle. Michelle herself was refusing to have anything to do with her now former boyfriend. Sid felt he had totally lost his Cassie with no chance of a second reconciliation. Cassie was the only person having at least a tolerable time. She was an in-patient in the restoration clinic, and was forming a very strong friendship with her clinic roommate, Katie. She had found a soulmate in Katie and the two girls appeared to understand each other.

The day of Anwar's seventeenth birthday was to prove eventful, even fateful. As soon as Cassie was awake, she set out to write a letter to Sid, finally breaking off their relationship and explaining that she was being taken by her parents to Elgin in Scotland. At the same time, Sid was writing a note to his sweet Cassie declaring his total love for her. In total desperation, and wearing Bermuda shorts, his 'Megadog' t-shirt and ill matched shoes, he went out of his house without his keys or the note, and ran all the way to the Restoration Clinic. Meanwhile, Cassie was absconding from the clinic for the day with her new best friend to have a last look round Bristol and deliver the letter to Sid's home. She felt she couldn't face him in person as she would break down in tears. When he arrived, Sid had missed her by about two seconds. He was dishevelled, with some leaves in his beanie, and almost incoherent. He tried, breathlessly to explain that he desperately wanted to see someone, triggering the 'megadog' t-shirt's barking nose when he put his hand over his heart, as he tried to describe his problem. He was locked in a padded cell 'for his own safety' until it was decided what to do with him.

While Cassie was having her 'last' look at Bristol with her new best friend Katie, she was asked in an indirect way what she would miss most. She admitted that despite her cold relationship with him at the present time, the person she would miss most was Sid. In the depths of her gentle heart, she still loved him.

Another relationship about to be broken up was that between Chris and Angie. This was because Angie's absent fiancé, Merve, had suddenly turned up out of the blue from Australia.

Everything came to a head in the evening at Anwar's seventeenth birthday party. Tony had collected Sid from the clinic, got him to change into some more suitable clothes and delivered him to the party venue, with the request to 'Go and find Cassie.'. Just after he entered, Cassie arrived outside the hall, with Katie. She explained that she didn't want to see Sid in person. Tony gave her Sid's note. He had already given Cassie's letter to Sid when he collected her from the clinic. Tony couldn't go in to the party as he was 'keeping an eye' on Effy, who was now no longer trusted to go out on her own because of the drug incident with Josh.

Shortly after Tony, Cassie and Katie left the party venue, Merve, Angie's fiancé turned up at the club accompanied by two of his thugs with the intention of dealing with Chris once and for all. When he approached Angie, she let him know in no uncertain terms that the engagement was off. This enraged Merve so much that he punched Chris, knocking him down. This gave the two 'heavies' the only excuse they needed to beat up everyone in sight.

In the mayhem that followed, Sid managed to retreat to a toilet and read Cassie's letter, which broke his heart. She didn't know why, but Cassie made her way to Brandon Hill, after leaving Katie back at the clinic. When Sid left the club, something also impelled him to go to Brandon Hill. He found Cassie there, sitting on one of the benches, reading his note. They said tearful farewells to each other and declared their love. Sid promised to keep in touch with his Cassie in the hope that that they might get together again at some time in the not too distant future.

Meanwhile, Tony had driven to a quiet side street and was using his mobile phone to try to talk to Michelle. Once he had persuaded her to listen to him, he told her that she was the only one for him, and that he loved her. He was in a poor signal area, so he had moved out into middle of the road, to get a better mobile signal. He was wearing dark clothes, so he wasn't very visible. Within a second of him declaring his love for Michelle, he was hit by a bus, and knocked unconscious.

At the end of this eventful day, Cassie was on her way to Scotland with her parents. Sid was already beginning to miss her and feeling lonely. Michelle knew that Tony did, after all, love her, but was wondering what had happened to cause the phone conversation she was having with him to end so suddenly. Tony, meanwhile was taken to hospital with a suspected subarachnoid haemorrhage and would take some time to recover. The only relationship within the 'gang' now was the new friendship between Jal and Chris.

Sid was prevented from dwelling too deeply on the loss of Cassie, by spending hours at a time by the comatose Tony's bedside talking to him and waiting for him to regain consciousness. Michelle did keep him company from time to time, as she was just as worried about Tony as Sid. Cassie was as good as her word and frequently contacted Sid via email, frequently attaching videos showing her enjoying herself in Elgin. One factor that worried Sid was that she seemed to be getting very friendly with two very good-looking Young Scotsmen. What he did not know was that they were a gay couple, and would have no physical interest in Cassie. Sid felt powerless, as he was unable to do anything about the apparent situation from five hundred miles away.


	3. Chapter 3: Exile and Betrayal

**Chapter 3: Exile and Betrayal**

Cassie, although she was settling down in her new life in Scotland, was beginning to miss Sid's presence in her life. She didn't lack company though. She was sharing a flat with a couple of gay men. In fact, they were so gay, they made Maxxie look straight. Sid, of course, missed Cassie's bright company, but had his own worries about his best friend Tony, who was still in a deep coma in hospital, following his violent encounter with a bus. Michelle was at a loose end. She was spending more time with Sid as she recognised that he would benefit from some friendly feminine company. Cassie's emails, while they did serve to keep Sid in touch with her, did provide a source of worry as he saw the two young Scotsmen, Lachlan and Ruiri, as rivals for her affection.

Tony was totally unaware of the many hours Sid had spent at his bedside as he was still in a deep coma. By the time he regained consciousness, Maxxie, and Tony's parents had taken over from Sid. In fact, when Tony was discharged from hospital, it was Maxxie who spent most time with him. The hours Sid had spent with Tony and the lack of any sign of recovery had driven him into a deep depression. He was advised to stop seeing the unconscious Tony 'for his own good'. This gave Tony the impression that Sid had forgotten about him.

Gradually, Tony recovered, but it would be a long time before he was fully back to normal. The friend who did most to assist Tony was Maxxie, who was otherwise uncommitted. He spent nearly every day with Tony, helping him relearn how to read and write, as these facilities, and several others had been damaged by his brain injury. By his actions in helping Tony, Maxxie had left a very deep impression. He seemed to be almost infinitely patient with Tony's frustrations, and never got rattled when Tony lost his temper.

Understandably, Sid wanted to improve his communications with Cassie, so he persuaded her to join an Internet chat site, which had a video facility. The result of this was to prove disastrous for their relationship. Sid attempted to contact Cassie on this chatline at a particularly unfortunate moment. Cassie had obtained some particularly skimpy underwear from a shop in Aberdeen and wanted to get some opinions about it. She decided to consult her gay flatmate, Lachlan about which sexy bra would excite Sid more. When Sid tried to establish the link, the video only went one way. Sid could see Cassie, but she could neither see nor hear him. When she opened her side of the link, all she was wearing was her skimpy intimate underwear and an unbuttoned cardigan. Since she could neither see nor hear Sid, she went back to that she was doing. She went back to Lachlan, who was in bed, removed her cardigan, and allowed him to unclip her bra. Cassie's webcam was still open and Sid saw all this happening. He quickly cut the link as he didn't want to see what he assumed was about to happen.

That evening, he contacted Cassie again. This time, the video worked both ways. Sid had drawn his own conclusions from what he saw in the morning and had assumed that Cassie had betrayed him with Lachlan. He was not prepared to let her explain what was actually happening, and told her he no longer trusted her. She replied by saying she could not talk to him anymore. The beautiful relationship between them appeared to be over. In a fit of jealous rage, Sid destroyed his laptop computer, and thus broke nearly all possibility of communication with Cassie. As a result of this spat, Cassie in a fit of pique, blocked Sid's phone number. As there was no possibility of a relationship with Lachlan or Ruiri, because they were both completely gay, she was now utterly on her own.

Sid, meanwhile had his own problems. The morning after the apparent ending of his relationship with Cassie, as he saw it, he tried to call her on his mobile phone, to see if he could make it up to her after the previous evening's harsh words. When he did find a place in the house where there was a useable signal, he received a message that Cassie had blocked his number. In his mind, this was confirmation that she had indeed ended their association, and that there was no going back. He was heartbroken. It never rains, but it pours. When he went downstairs, he found his father dead in the armchair. He had lost both his girlfriend and his father on the same evening. He went through the next day at College like a zombie. Eventually he was helped by Tony, who urged him to call his mother, Liz who, after walking out on Mark, was staying with her sister. Helping his mother organise the funeral did, at least, keep his mind away from dwelling on the loss of the one person he saw as his key to happiness in the future.

It was now the middle of the Winter, Cassie's parents realised that she was really deeply depressed over Sid, especially after the apparent ending of the relationship. They decided to take her on a completely different type of holiday. They told her it was going to be different this time and that Cassie should forget all her preconceptions and try to enjoy it. However, they did not tell her about the true nature of the holiday until they had checked in to the resort hotel on Gran Canaria. What they hadn't told her was that this particular resort hotel was operated by 'Freikorperkultur', the German naturist organisation. She was terrified on the first morning when she realised that she would have to shed all her clothes when she went on to the beach, or even if she visited the hotel poolside bar. She refused to leave the hotel room, thought about her lost relationship with Sid, and started crying. About half way through the morning, her mother, Margherita came back to the room, and took Cassie to the poolside bar. Oddly, and much to her surprise, she felt embarrassed being fully clothed, while everyone else was completely naked. She was wearing blue jeans, a black roll neck sweater and a denim jacket. She looked completely out of place. Once she had drunk some lemonade, Margherita took her back to the room, persuaded her out of her clothes, and spent the next quarter of an hour convincing her that she looked good naked. After a couple of days, she acclimatised herself to being naked outdoors in company, and much to her surprise, she found, after a couple of hours, she thoroughly enjoyed the experience. She was able to put all thoughts of Sid and her lost romance behind her. She found it especially pleasing when other hotel guests complemented her on her beautiful body. For the first time in her life, she began to feel comfortable in her own skin.

Michelle was about to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. The six remaining members of the 'gang' plus Scarlet, Michelle's step sister suggested that a camping weekend in South Wales might be a suitable way of marking the occasion. Sid was feeling particularly depressed, having lost both his father and his girlfriend. He tried to back out, citing revision for the forthcoming exams as a reason. He was persuaded, against his better judgement, and also against a little voice somewhere deep inside him telling him it would be better for him if he stayed in Bristol.

The camping weekend was a disaster on several levels. Their transport to Oxwich Bay was Scarlet's big Volvo estate car. They had put the tents etc. on the roof, but lost them somewhere en-route, as Chris, whose job it was to secure them hadn't lashed them down. Fortunately, Scarlet had a largish pop-up tent, and this was set up on the beach. The next thing to happen was that the car, which was further down the beach got drowned when the tide came in. Oxwich Bay, in common with Weston-Super-Mare, has a very wide beach and a tide that comes in very rapidly. The gang, therefore, now had no alternative but to sleep under the stars. In the evening dusk, Sid felt a wave of deep depression overtaking him and tried to slip away. Fortunately for him as it turned out, he was intercepted by Scarlet, who engaged him in conversation for a few minutes. He did manage to escape from her, but not before Michelle, who did still care about him, noted that he was absent from the sleeping area. When she found him, he was sitting between two sand dunes, seriously contemplating drowning himself. He had come to the conclusion that his life was worthless and that no-one would miss him if he just disappeared.

"I'm so lonely." he said, sadly, as tears streamed down his face.

Michelle embraced him, consoled him and then made love to him. They spent the night out on the dunes. In the morning, they made their excuses and made their way back to Sid's home using their thumbs. Sid had now come to believe that Cassie was regrettably a lost cause and was now fired up for another exciting sexual liaison with Michelle. This time in his own bed. As they entered Sid's bedroom, each engaged in the task of removing their partner's clothes, a voice from the corner said: "Hello Sid, hello Michelle.". Cassie had been waiting for Sid to return, hoping to put things right between them. When Cassie assessed the situation, she gave Sid and Michelle a look which seemed to say: "Oh! I see." and rapidly melted out of the room. Neither Sid nor Michelle were sure that they had actually seen Cassie, or whether she had been a figment of their joint imaginations. They finished the delightful task of stripping each other naked, making the most of each new area of exposed skin. They enjoyed the new experience of exploring each other's naked bodies. This was the first time that Sid had seen every bit of Michelle's body. They once again made love, producing twin simultaneous orgasms even stronger than those they had experienced on the beach. Sid's long held dreams about making love to Michelle appeared to have come true. He had just enjoyed a wonderful sexual encounter with the girl he had lusted after for nearly a decade. It was nearly ideal with both Sid and Michelle totally naked and in a bed. In the next couple of days, they made naked love on a few more occasions. On one night, they slept together, enjoying the naked presence of each other under the duvet.

In the middle of the following week, the 'gang' were spending an evening at a club. During the course of the evening, Chris dared Jal to get hold of the singer's hat. She was able to approach the stage, snog the singer to the floor and put on his hat, before a bouncer caught up with her and picked her up. She could now see over the crowd. She caught sight of Cassie coming into the club, and shouted "It's Cassie." through the still open microphone. Sure enough, at Katie's suggestion, Cassie had come to the club. She approached Sid and Michelle, announced to one and all that 'lovely Sid' and 'lovely Michelle' were fucking. This was news to everyone particularly Tony. She then kissed Sid's cheek really tenderly, then slapped his face as hard as she could and walked out of the club. From that moment on, Sid felt really guilty having sex with Michelle. He realised that far from Cassie betraying him, he had betrayed Cassie's love for him with Michelle. It would be some time before he came to realise that his apparent break-up with Cassie had been a terrible misunderstanding.

Sid was now on the horns of a dilemma. He now realised that after all, Cassie did actually still love him. He was torn between his new infatuation with Michelle, and his genuine and heartfelt love for Cassie. Cassie remained angry with him for some time. She even sent him a postcard on which she had written: 'Fuck off and die.'. This, he reluctantly took as proof that Cassie did not want anything more to do with him. His heart still ached for Cassie, but for the time being, although he still felt guilty about the situation, he would continue to regard Michelle as his girlfriend.

After an extraordinary university interview day, during which Tony had a sexual encounter with a girl called Beth, he realised that his primal urges had, at last, returned to normal. He reclaimed Michelle, leaving Sid in the lurch, with no girlfriend.

For the next few weeks, Sid's life was a lonely nightmare. Cassie was now back living in Bristol, but refusing to speak to him. Tony was back with his Michelle, but it would be some time before they totally trusted each other again. Chris and Jal were a stable, happy couple. Chris was being very protective regarding Cassie. Sid was now completely on his own, without anybody he could call a friend. He was now missing Cassie's love and companionship more than ever. He was desperate. Of all people, it was Effy who came to Sid's rescue.


	4. Chapter 4: Reconciliation and Tragedy

**Chapter 4: Reconciliation and Tragedy**

One afternoon during the summer term, Sid was loitering outside Tony's house when Effy and Pandora returned from a trip to Cassie's flat to collect some drugs. When he was asked what he was doing, Sid replied that he was 'looking at the bins'. Effy invited him in. After a while, Tony went upstairs to do some revision. Sid was left alone with Effy. Rhetorically, he asked her why everything seemed to be going wrong for him. She promised to sort out his 'Soap Opera' in return for him doing her art coursework.

Cassie was living with Chris in a flat which had been provided for him by Angie. Effy set her up with a young friend of hers called Jake. She also managed to get Sid occupied for a few hours, doing her art work, with a plentiful supply of alcohol, while she photographed Cassie and Jake kissing. She plastered copies of the resulting picture all over the unconscious Sid and awaited the result.

When Sid saw the picture, he was galvanised into action. He ran all the way to Chris's flat, and confronted Cassie. He entered the flat in a furious rage, but he had reckoned without her most powerful weapon, her beautiful and expressive eyes. She used them to reduce Sid to a quivering tearful wreck in no more than fifty-six seconds. Sid had to admit to Cassie that he'd had great sex with Michelle for three days and guilty sex after that. They both apologised for their past misunderstandings, and declared their total love for each other.

For the next few weeks through the Summer Term, it seemed that everything was stabilising. Sid and Cassie were fully reconciled. Michelle and Tony were back together and once again beginning to find love. Also, Jal was in love with Chris and spending most of her spare time with him. The other two members of the 'gang' also appeared to have found partners. Anwar was spending a great deal of his time with Sketch, the little Welsh girl who had previously, unsuccessfully stalked Maxxie earlier in the year. As for Maxxie, he was becoming very friendly with a young man called James.

Although it seemed that all the relationships were settling down, a not unexpected cloud was hanging over the 'gang'. Chris had been born with a serious defect in the blood vessels in his brain, he had an aneurysm, which could burst at any time without warning with fatal results. His brother had already been killed by an identical problem. During the Summer term, he was hospitalised due to a brain haemorrhage, but had discharged himself somewhat earlier than the doctors would have liked.

One morning, after Chris had woken up, Cassie checked that he was okay. She then had a gentle intimate moment with her dear Sidney before going to the college to sit a postponed Psychology exam. She seemed okay, but in reality, she was feeling very uneasy. She just had this odd feeling that something dreadful was about to occur. She did not betray her unease until she returned from the exam. While she was away, Sid had prepared a small dinner party for the three couples. He had not told Cassie what was about to happen. When she returned, she found that Michelle had arrived at the flat and started to walk out. At the front door, she was confronted by Tony, who was carrying a bunch of flowers for Michelle. She stayed. However, her unease was coming to the surface, and she was very irritable right through the meal, even at one point taunting Tony and Michelle about the progress of their reconciliation with each other. Eventually, she got up, went to her bedroom and asked Sid to join her. Sid had sex with Cassie in the hope that it would calm her down. It did, to a limited extent. The following morning, after Sid had gone on his milk round, she joined Chris, who was contemplating his life. As on the day when she confronted Jal about secrets and honesty, all she was wearing was a pink bedsheet. She tried to reassure Chris that he was worth something and that he was worthy of Jal's love. However, she still had this premonition that something unpleasant was imminent. Later in the day, they were watching television, and Cassie remembered the t-shirt she had snaffled from a shop in Park Street the previous day. She produced it. Chris put it on. Shortly afterwards, he felt a bit vague, apparently couldn't remember his girlfriend's name, staggered across to his bed and collapsed. His aneurysm had burst. Cassie held him gently as he died and could feel the life draining away from him. His very last word was "Jal". He had remembered her name. She called the ambulance and Chris was taken away, leaving poor sweet Cassie alone and utterly traumatised. She couldn't think straight, and just wanted to escape from this dreadful place. It didn't occur to her to call Sid, who would have consoled her in an instant, and put her back on an even keel. She just packed some essentials and her passport into her backpack and walked out.

Sid was devastated when he realised that Cassie had disappeared. He did not know what had happened to her, and he was worried. He knew she did occasionally have sudden depressions and suicidal thoughts. However, he had to try to put any thoughts that she might have killed herself right out of his mind, otherwise, he would fall into a depressed state himself. Although the exams had finished, he did manage to keep his mind occupied by spending time with his friends. To make a few extra pounds, even before Chris had died, he had got himself an early morning milk round with a local dairy company. On the morning of the funeral, Graham Miles, Chris's father visited Sid and specifically excluded the 'gang' from it. That morning's post brought Sid's exam results, and a postcard from New York. It was from Cassie. All she had written on it was Sid's address, but he knew it was from her, because he recognised her handwriting. The message on the front of the card was 'NY I _heart_ you, but you're dragging me down'.

Cassie had somehow fetched up in the Big Apple after being on 'autopilot' for a few days. She wasn't sure how to get to the centre from the airport, so se embarked on the somewhat risky strategy of walking towards Manhattan. She was still in a state of shock, having witnessed the death of her closest friend at close quarters. She was walking across Brooklyn when her luck changed for the better. She walked past a little group of Yellow Cab drivers having a rest and a brew-up in a side street. One of them asked her where she was going. All she could say was "Somewhere nice". He took pity on her, gave her a free ride into lower Manhattan and stopped outside a diner he knew on the Lower East Side. He gave her fifty dollars for food and strongly suggested she should go in to the diner, saying "You gotta eat!".

She went in, sat down, ordered a meal, then just looked at it for the next ten minutes or so. This is when she had her second stroke of good luck. One of the waiters, Adam, noticed her and talked to her. He took pity on her and invited her to spend the night with him. He made it very plain that he did not want to have sex with her. He explained that he came from Iowa. When Cassie asked him "Where's that?" he said it was "Over there – about a thousand miles". Cassie, was now at least neutral emotionally, having got over the initial shock of Chris's sudden death, but she was beginning to miss Sid's warm-hearted company. She sent the postcard, not knowing whether Sid would receive it. However, she made the best of her situation and lived with Adam for a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, back in Bristol, Chris's funeral took place on the same day as the 'gang's' exam results were received. They had agreed amongst themselves that they wouldn't open their exam results until after the funeral, and when they did open them, they would do it round a bonfire in the evening. Although the 'gang' didn't attend the actual funeral service, they positioned themselves on some higher ground overlooking the graveyard during the interment. As the priest was just concluding his ceremony, Jal decided to give a passionate eulogy comparing Chris to a hero of his, Captain Joe Kittinger, the American airman, who in 1960 had ascended to thirty kilometres in a balloon, and jumped out, free falling for most of the way down before opening his parachute. As soon as she had finished, Tony gave the signal, and some very loud fireworks were detonated.

Afterwards, around a small bonfire, they opened their results. Thankfully all the friends who had applied for university places had obtained the results they required. However, Anwar, who had quietly melted away, had failed one subject and only attained an 'E' in the other two.

Cassie was existing reasonably happily in New York, sharing an apartment with Adam. One morning, however, she woke up alone in the apartment. She found an apple and a note by her bed. The note explained that Adam had gone away for a while 'to take a few snaps'. He was a photographer. It also said that she could stay in the apartment for as long as she wanted to. It now struck her like a thunderbolt that she was now alone, stranded in a foreign city, and that the people who loved her were thousands of miles away. She cried bitterly for a couple of hours. Once she was cried out, she realised that she would have to earn some dollars if she was to stay here. She repaired her make up and went down to the diner to inform them that Adam had gone away for a while. Much to her surprise, she was offered his job if she felt she could do it. She started work as a waitress at the Alias Restaurant in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

A couple of weeks after their joint celebration/commiseration of their results and the demise of Chris, Tony told Sid he was going to give him a surprise. He suggested that he pack some clothes into a rucksack and wait for him. Unbeknown to Sid, Tony had 'borrowed' his passport and made some travel arrangements for him. One early evening, he collected Sid from his home and drove him to Bristol Airport. Sid was quite baffled as to what was going on. Getting no information from Tony, he asked Michelle where they were going. She said she had nothing to do with this. When they arrived at the airport, Tony gave Sid a small package and gave him instructions to "Go and find Cassie". In the package was Sid's passport, an airline ticket to New York and a letter of introduction to one of Michelle's mother's American interior decorating contacts. The letter requested Grant Clifford to provide a small apartment for Sid, while he searched for his girlfriend.

Sid flew to New York, not knowing what he'd find there. His plane touched down at Newark airport, just over the Hudson River from the Big Apple. He made his way into Manhattan and, after some confusion found the address of the apartment he was to use while he was searching. He made himself comfortable and asked Grant Clifford whether there was anywhere nearby where he could get a curry. Grant directed him to a Malaysian restaurant a couple of blocks away. He had his dinner there that evening, and thoroughly enjoyed it. His next task was to try and find his sweet Cassie. He started in Mid-town Manhattan and spent nearly a week of long days there failing to find her. Each evening he would return to Nyonya, the Malaysian restaurant and console himself with a different spicy dish each evening. On the Friday of his first full week, he had a major stroke of good luck. He met Grant Clifford on the stairs. Grant asked Sid what Cassie looked like. Sid described her and showed him the photo he carried of Cassie. Grant said that there was a new waitress at a diner he often used on the Lower East Side, who looked like the girl in the picture. He also mentioned that her name badge said 'Cassie'. Sid did not go to Nyonya that evening, but went straight to the Alias Restaurant. He looked in through the window and saw Cassie walking to the counter after serving a customer. He quickly looked at his picture and went in. Cassie was startled to see him in her diner. She didn't recognise him at first, but thought he did look just like her boyfriend. When he spoke, she realised it was him. They met up after Cassie's shift finished, and spent the night together in Adam's apartment. By sheer luck, Sid had located the one person he was looking for.


	5. Chapter 5: New York, New York

**Chapter 5: New York, New York**

**This is a longer chapter (Over 4,000 words)****,**** but I wanted to keep all the time in New York together. From this point on, the story takes the situation revealed in Series 7 into account, rather than the Series 4 timeline on which my 'Manhattan' story was based.**

Cassie had the next day off, so the couple enjoyed the sights of Mid-town Manhattan while beginning to think about their future. Sid was presented with another dilemma. This time it wasn't so painful as his previous one. Cassie felt she wasn't ready to return to Bristol, and Sid did not want to leave her. They decided to spend a couple of weeks in New York, then try to explore the country. They started their planning of the first week by buying a couple of tickets to Thursday's concert by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler's third symphony. Lorin Maazel was to be the conductor. They spent their second night together in 'Sid's' apartment in Grand Street.

The diner was closed on Monday, and Cassie was on evening shifts for Tuesday and Wednesday, so once she finished her double shift on Sunday, they had the best part of three days to explore the delights of Manhattan. As they had decided to explore the USA until such time as Cassie was ready to return to Bristol, she gave the restaurant owner two weeks' notice that she was leaving. Sid, meanwhile had researched what could be visited in New York during the next couple of days. He found out about the 'New York Pass', which, once it was paid for, would allow free access to most of the city's attractions. He arranged to buy a pair of two day passes for the Tuesday and Wednesday of the week. He would collect them in person on Tuesday.

Monday was the most serious day of their stay in the Big Apple. They were to visit Lower Manhattan and experience the Staten Island ferry first thing in the morning. This was because they had both seen the film 'Working Girl' on television, and wanted to experience that ferry crossing. As a result, they couldn't get 'Let the River Run' out of their heads for most of the rest of the day. After spending a little time in Battery Park contemplating the World Trade Center globe, they took the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Islands. Their happy and idealistic mood, which had been generated by 'Let the River Run' was dissolved in the afternoon by a visit to the temporary nine-eleven memorial. Several years earlier, Cassie was thought to be very odd when she described the pictures of airliners crashing into the twin towers as 'beautiful'. Now she was in the place where it had happened with a person she loved, and who loved her, the enormity of the outrage struck home. She broke down in tears. Sid showed her a new side of his personality by being able to console her. After this rather harrowing experience, they had a McDonalds meal, then went to see the film 'High School Musical Three' at a local cinema. This did have the desired effect of dispersing the dark mood which had enveloped both of them following their visit to the World Trade Center site. Feeling more cheerful, they slept together once again in the Grand Street apartment.

The next day they had planned a visit to the USS Intrepid, a Second World War aircraft carrier. Cassie had visited it earlier in her time in New York, and felt that Sid would enjoy it if ever he came to look for her. This morning, before going to Mid-Town Manhattan, they had a substantial American breakfast at a pancake house that Sid had discovered called the 'Landmark Omlette and Pancake House'. On their way from the collection point for the New York passes to the carrier, they were diverted by the cruise right round the island offered by Circle Line Cruises. The Intrepid would have to wait until the afternoon. The cruise went anti-clockwise around the island, so the first tourist site they passed was Liberty Island and its statue. Sid mentioned that this might be the last time they would see the Statue of Liberty before leaving New York. They passed under the three great bridges over the East River, linking Manhattan with Brooklyn, and passed the United Nations building before heading North towards the Bronx. Sailing around the North tip of the island, they eventually reached the Hudson River. As they returned to the pier, their boat passed the stern of the aircraft carrier not long before they docked. They walked back to the Intrepid.

The carrier didn't disappoint. Sid was excited by the various aircraft on the flight deck. They kissed each other passionately under the wing of a Tomcat fighter-bomber, before going down to the hangar deck. In the hangar deck, there was a pair of models, one of the Intrepid, the other depicting the flight deck of a Nimitz class carrier. Sid found both the Tomcat and this interesting as he had seen both 'The Final Countdown' and 'Top Gun'. Cassie was happy that she had found something to Sid's liking in New York. After visiting the aircraft carrier, they had a look round the Concorde airliner. Cassie mentioned the wish she'd had on the previous occasion she'd been there, that she would have liked it to fly her back to Sid. Now that he was with her, she was less inclined to go back to Bristol. Following their inspection of the Concorde, they briefly visited the USS Drum, a submarine, before leaving the pier feeling hungry. They hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. They had a meal at the 'Olympic' diner, which was quite near Cassie's place of work, as she was on an evening shift. They spent the night in Adam's apartment as that was more convenient for their proposed visits the next day.

The Wednesday was more 'cultural'. They breakfasted in the Olympic diner they had visited the previous afternoon, before heading uptown to the Metropolitan Art Museum on one side of Central Park. After spending about three hours there, they strolled across to the Guggenheim Museum and looked round that. In the early afternoon, they wandered across Central Park to the Lincoln Center.

They joined the 2:30 pm tour of the Center, and were spellbound to hear Lorin Maazel rehearsing the finale of the symphony they were to hear on Thursday evening. So much so, in fact, that they embraced and kissed passionately when they left the Avery Fisher Hall. The guide commented that the music had had the desired effect on at least two of the visitors, as that movement was called 'What love tells me'. Once they had completed the tour of the Lincoln Center, they went to the 'Top of the Rock' viewing gallery at the Rockefeller Center before visiting a sandwich bar in the same complex for a late afternoon tea. Once again, they slept in Adam's apartment as Cassie had a morning shift on Thursday.

On Thursday morning, Sid got up before Cassie and prepared breakfast in the apartment, muesli and buttered toast with coffee. Once they had fed, Cassie started her morning shift, and Sid set out towards the Grand Street apartment. He had 'borrowed' a ring from Cassie's dressing table and went uptown to shop for some respectable trousers and some replacement shoes. He also visited a jewellery store. He returned to the Diner at about half past three and ordered a coffee. At four o'clock Sid and Cassie went up to Adam's apartment, so that Cassie could get ready for the concert. On their way to the Lincoln Center, they visited Nyonya, the Malaysian restaurant and dined on Roti Canai and Char Kuey Touw. Washed down with long an and Rambutan drinks.

They arrived at the Avery Fisher Hall in time to find their seats, read the programme and relax before the lights went down and the concert began. As Sid observed Cassie's face during the performance, he knew he had done the right thing by bringing her. Her facial expressions changed with the music, sometimes sad and sometimes carrying a radiant smile. At one particularly poignant moment during the third movement of this very long symphony, she produced a tissue and wiped away a tear. Her expression soon changed however with the joyous ending of the movement. For the couple, the finale proved very romantic. Sid's arm was across Cassie's shoulders, with his hand gently caressing her bare arm, and his other hand was holding one of hers. Very near the end, they went into a full embrace, only separating to applaud at the very end. Although Mahler's third is the longest symphony in the orchestral repertoire, the time seemed to have passed quite quickly.

They reached the Grand Street apartment after the concert still in a state of amorous elation. Cassie had lived the music from the first bar to the last, and experienced it with the one person she totally loved. She was now ready for him to do anything. Sid was also fired up with love for the sweet girl in his apartment. After they had enjoyed their late-night coffee, he gently relieved her of her dress. He found this task both enjoyable and exciting, relishing each new area of skin being revealed. It wasn't long before both Sid and Cassie were naked. They made love to each other with a newly intense passion. This was the best sexual experience either of them had ever enjoyed.

On Friday morning, Sid went shopping with Cassie after they had breakfasted in the Landmark Omelette and Pancake House. Unusually, he actually enjoyed it. When she went into a shop, Cassie nearly always knew exactly what she wanted and, unlike Jal, didn't change her mind half way through a purchase. Sid also bought a few items, so the expedition took a couple of hours longer than expected. They still had a little time left before Cassie's shift, so they had a late snack lunch at the Landmark, and went Battery Park to have a heart to heart talk about their intensifying relationship. When they returned to the apartment, Cassie decided to do some packing before she started work. Sid asked her not to pack her gold dress just yet, as he was thinking of taking her to a show on Saturday night. She said she had something just as pretty for that evening. While Cassie worked her evening shift, Sid went uptown and bought two discounted tickets to 'Mamma Mia'. The couple enjoyed another restful night in each other's arms. It was to be Cassie's last night in Adam's apartment. She would spend the rest of her New York stay in the Grand Street one.

Saturday dawned bright and clear and Cassie got ready for her Saturday morning shift. There was still some time, so Sid treated her to Breakfast at the Olympic diner. He took the case carrying most of Cassie's things with him to the Grand Street apartment, so that they would not have to take anything away in the afternoon. When she had finished her shift, Cassie changed into what she was to wear for the evening, and put her uniform in her shoulder bag. She came back from the bedroom wearing a bright red one shoulder top, a white pleated skirt and a large red flower in her hair. Just as they were embracing and having a last kiss in the apartment, footsteps could be heard on the stairs. Adam entered. Cassie introduced him to Sid.

"So, you're the Sid she was calling out for in her sleep." said Adam, "Whatever she was running away from, it certainly wasn't you."

Sid thanked Adam for looking after Cassie while she was in New York and making sure she was safe. Cassie lamented the fact that had disappeared with no warning. He explained that his family problems in Iowa took a bit longer to sort out than he had expected.

On the way to the theatre, they were to have an early dinner in Nyonya. Since he had come back, Sid invited him along as a token of thanks for what he had done for his sweet Cassie. Adam found the food unfamiliar, but delicious and asked Sid how he had discovered the restaurant. Sid explained that he wanted a curry, bunt that there didn't seem to be any Indian restaurants near here. He said that he had asked Grant Clifford about this, and was directed to Nyonya. He was now a fan of Malaysian food, particularly Roti Canai. As they were leaving, Adam asked Sid How much longer he was intending to stay in New York. On learning that he was to be there for another week, he gave directions to a part of the city where there were several Indian diners.

"You'll find a whole cluster of them on Lexington Avenue between twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth streets." said Adam, "The area is called 'Curry Hill'. Let me know if you're going to try one. I'd like to come."

"We will." said Sid, "But we'll have to fit it in with Cassie's shifts."

"And mine." said Adam, "I'll be working again next week."

By this time, they had reached the Subway station and it was time for Adam to return to the diner, while Sid and Cassie went up to the theatre in Times Square to see the show.

They reached the theatre and took their seats. Sid sat on Cassie's left. The show started.

For the next two hours, the smile rarely left Cassie's face. Again, as at the concert, she was living the music. Sid could sense her sheer joy. They particularly enjoyed 'S O S', 'Gimme Gimme Gimme' and, of course, 'Mamma Mia!'.

He caressed her shoulder and cuddled her during some of the sadder songs. She seemed to be about to shed a tear during 'When All is Said and Done'. Sid kissed her cheek and restored her radiant smile.

When 'I Have a Dream' ended the main part of the show, Sid embraced Cassie and held her right through the song.

The show ended with 'Waterloo' and 'Thank You for the Music'. Sid and Cassie clapped along with the rest of the audience.

As they left the theatre, Sid asked: "Did you like that?"

"It was so lovely." said Cassie, putting on her black cardigan. "As you said, it's not my usual kind of music, but I can't remember feeling so happy for so long while watching a show. It would certainly have lifted the depression we both felt on Monday."

"I'm glad you liked it so much." said Sid. "I'd heard a lot about it. I took the opportunity to see it while we're here. Liking Abba is not quite so uncool as it was a few years ago."

"Thank you so much for taking me." said Cassie. "It was a perfect end to our first week together in New York."

"It hasn't ended yet." said Sid. "We've still got tomorrow, then we've got another week here before we decide where to go first."

Sid and Cassie returned to the Grand Street apartment. They walked arm in arm along Grand Street from the subway station, stopping at intervals to embrace each other and exchange kisses.

They arrived at the apartment and left their shoes inside the door. Cassie took off her cardigan and settled on the couch, while Sid made two mugs of hot chocolate. He sat on Cassie's left. Cassie remind Sid that he had commented that she looked amazing without her gold dress. She then promised him a surprise. She got up, went into the bedroom, and came back about a minute later, totally naked. She gave a twirl and sat back down next to Sid.

"Did you like that?" asked Cassie.

"Yes, I loved it," said Sid, "But I'm the one who usually undresses you."

"That top was quite tight," said Cassie, "So I didn't want you to damage it when you removed it. Anyway, you're a bit overdressed at the moment, so let's do something about that."

With this, Cassie removed Sid's shirt and unfastened his trousers. Then she embraced him. The couple, once again, made love before going to sleep.

Cassie was not working on Sunday, as she would be required to help cater for a special party who had hired the diner for a special private lunch on Monday. After once again enjoying a Landmark breakfast, Sid took Cassie up to Central Park, and they found a seat near where Cassie had seen Sid without realising who he was on his first Monday in the city. They made use of the afternoon to have an extended heart-to-heart conversation about many subjects including their feelings for each other and the possibility of their eventual return to Bristol. Cassie, once again, said she wasn't yet ready to think about returning home, as the trauma of Chris's sudden death was still too fresh in her mind. They also had some thoughts about what they were going to do when Cassie had worked out her notice. Cassie said she would be seeing Adam on Monday, as he would almost certainly be asked to help with the private party. One thing Sid did not want was to spend a Winter in the Big Apple. It would be too cold. By the time they had strolled back to the apartment, they had decided in principle to go South, probably to Florida after they left the city.

They had not had any lunch, but their breakfast had been both large and late. However, they were both beginning to feel hungry. They ended their first week together in New York with another tasty Malaysian meal at Nyonya. Afterwards they spent the evening at a local bar enjoying drinks and snacks.

On the Monday, Cassie met Adam, and gleaned a great deal of information about how to go about getting short term, cash in hand work in the USA. She also found out about his shifts during the coming week, as she felt that it would be a good idea to discuss this with Sid over their proposed Indian dinner. The best evening for this would appear to be Wednesday.

While Cassie was on her special Monday lunchtime shift, Sid wasn't idle. He was also collecting information about transport within the country. He found out as much as he possibly could about the Greyhound and Trailways bus networks, as this would be their most likely form of transportation once they started travelling.

Both Adam and Cassie had double shifts on Tuesday, so Sid had time to make some financial arrangements with his mother, as he would now be spending an indefinite amount of time in the USA. He had to explain that Cassie did not feel ready to return to Bristol, so he was going to stay with her and, hopefully, travel home with her before too long. It was obvious to Liz from the sound of his voice, that Sid's love for his Cassie was genuine, and that he would do anything for her. He could now start to make use of his credit card as Liz said she would settle the accounts within reason. Clearly, he did not yet know quite how he was going to make ends meet once the couple left the big apple, but since Cassie had found paid work, he felt that he would probably find something to keep the wolf from their temporary, and moveable, door. At the end of the day, Sid went to the Alias Restaurant for his late-night coffee, before walking back to the Grand Street apartment with Cassie. Before he left the diner, he confirmed arrangements for their Indian meal the next evening with Adam. For his part, Adam said he would guide them to what he thought was the best restaurant.

On Wednesday morning, after walking with Cassie to her diner, Sid returned to the Grand Street apartment and worked out how to use Greyhound buses to get to Orlando. This, he surmised would be a suitable starting point for both visits and possible short-term employment in that state, as it was popular with tourists all year round.

In the afternoon, Sid returned to the diner to meet Adam and Cassie. When he got there, they all felt it was a little early for the evening dinner, so they went back to Sid's Grand Street apartment, so Cassie could change out of her uniform and put on something more casual. They found a local café, where they could start discussing Sid and Cassie's plans for their travel round the USA. Adam agreed that Orlando was a good starting point for Florida as he had already worked casually there the previous winter. He gave the couple a considerable amount of advice on how to go about getting work and getting around, based on his own experience. Regarding hitchhiking, he informed them about the best kinds of places to try for a lift to their next destination. By the time they had spent a couple of hours and each had a couple of coffees, it was time to go to 'Curry Hill'. On Adam's advice they went to Canal Street subway station and caught a train direct to Twenty-eighth Street.

They entered the Dhaba Indian restaurant and were shown to a table. Plenty were available as it was still comparatively early in the evening. Adam explained that this particular diner not only had the selection of Indian dishes that the Americans usually preferred, but also had an 'English' section on its menu which had the curries normally available in a British carry house, such as Madras, Bhuna, Vindaloo etc. They spent some time exploring the menu before deciding on samosas as appetisers. They also decided to have two vegetable dishes and two lamb dishes for their mains. They had Lamb Rogan Josh and Lamb Dhansak. For their vegetable dishes, they had Jeera Chilli Aloo and a vegetable Do Piaza. Added to these were Peas Pulav and a couple of Naan breads.

Once they had finished their meal with a very sweet dessert, they quietly strolled back to the subway station and returned to Canal Street. They spent the rest of the evening at a bar near Sid's Grand Street apartment drinking and discussing the route Sid and Cassie were proposing to take across the USA. Adam agreed that it was a good idea to spend several months in Florida as they would then avoid the rigours of an American Mid-West winter. He commented that it can be bitterly cold in Iowa in January, and Cassie didn't look like the kind of girl who would enjoy the cold. Adam also commented that it was probably a good thing to stay in one place for the first few months, especially if they found employment which had accommodation supplied with it. That way, they would maximise income and minimise expenses, thus building up a reserve of cash. He also said that Cassie could obtain restaurant work anywhere in the world. She was so good, and her bright, outgoing personality was contagious. She would probably have to be the breadwinner for the first part of the journey. Sid would probably have to think about what he could do to earn a few dollars. That was something to ponder while they were riding the Greyhound bus to Orlando.

Their last three days in New York passed very quickly, too quickly for Sid. All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to both Adam and Grant Clifford and vacate the apartment. They had one last Malaysian meal in Nyonya before starting the long bus ride South.


	6. Chapter 6: Florida to the Windy City

**Chapter 6: Florida to the Windy City**

On Sunday, at last, they were on their way by Greyhound bus to Orlando in Florida. They would spend most of their time travelling, and spend two nights in the cheapest motels they could find. Shortly after leaving New York, both Sid and Cassie had the same musical thought. The Simon and Garfunkel song 'America' occurred to both of them at the same time, as they were travelling along the New Jersey turnpike. It gave them a peaceful feeling as the girl's name in the song was 'Kathy', which did sound a little like 'Cassie', and the couple in the song were obviously totally in love.

After their three-day marathon bus journey, they finally reached Orlando. Sid had pre-booked two nights in an economy motel, so that they would have some time to follow Adam's advice about finding work.

To say that they 'fell on their feet' would be an understatement. Cassie found waitressing work at a diner associated with a nearby hotel. The proprietors phoned the Alias diner in Manhattan, and got such a positive reference that she was employed immediately. Sid was also found employment as a bell boy in the same hotel. A bonus was that accommodation was provided with the jobs. Provided nothing untoward happened, they were now set up for the Winter months. They were earning enough between them to build up a cash reserve and to have enough over to enjoy the local attractions, such as Disney World and the Universal Studios parks. During their visits to these parks, Cassie discovered that she really loved riding roller coasters. Sid was also able to send enough money home via Western Union to pay his credit card bills.

Another Florida attraction they visited was the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. This visit inspired them to try to visit the other NASA sites in Alabama and Texas. As they continued to work in the Orlando hotel, a plan for their route around the country was beginning to form in their minds. Meanwhile, they were having a look round to see what else there was to see and do in Florida. Since they had both found some reasonably secure employment in Orlando, they decided that they would look at the more remote attractions just before leaving for their next destination.

For the next four months, life for the couple was fairly settled. Whenever they had a coincident day or two off, they would visit a local attraction. The most remote of these being the Busch Gardens park at Tampa Bay. Although she had ridden the roller coasters at the Universal Studios parks in Orlando, it was at Busch Gardens at Tampa Bay that Cassie really got a taste for riding the more extreme coasters. She encouraged Sid to include some more theme parks on their journey around the USA. This was a task he enjoyed as he, also, was getting a taste for riding coasters.

One sight they did manage to include during their stay in Orlando, was a rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center. On this occasion, they tried using their thumbs to get transport to Cocoa Beach, which they were told was one of the best places to watch satellites being sent into orbit.

At the end of their sojourn in Orlando, Cassie decided that they had seen most of the major attractions in Florida, as they were within easy reach of Orlando. Accordingly, they set out for Mobile, Alabama, where they would spend two nights and decide where to go next. They got to Tallahassee relatively easily, and were fortunate enough to find a truck driver willing to take them along the I-10 interstate highway to Mobile. He also gave them some information regarding finding a couple of nights' accommodation in Mobile, and the best way to get to the Battleship USS Alabama preserved there. They spent the rest of the journey in conversation, with the driver telling them about the advantages and disadvantages of making a living driving an eighteen-wheeler along the interstate highways. Cassie also told her story, of how she ran away from the traumatic experience of witnessing her best friend's death and fetched up in New York, and how Sid came to 'rescue' her. Their driver asked them where they were going next. On learning that they were going to the NASA Center in Houston, suggested they make a side trip to Huntsville, where there was a lesser known, but more interesting NASA facility. He also advised them how they could get there. He wished them the best of luck as he dropped them off outside the motel he'd recommended. He mentioned, in parting, that their story was one of the most interesting he'd heard in several years.

That evening, they booked two nights at the motel suggested by their driver and spent a restful night on the outskirts of Mobile, not too far from Battleship Park. They spent most of the next day looking round the USS Alabama museum, which included not only the ship, but several aircraft from World War II and more recent eras. Sid was impressed by the view from the bridge of the Alabama, looking over the top of the two forward triple 16 inch gun turrets. He explained to Cassie that the maximum size of battleships was limited to 35,000 tons by something called the Washington Treaty, and that the Alabama was one of the ships built to comply with that treaty.

"What about the Iowa class ships?" asked Cassie, "Weren't they a lot heavier? Adam mentioned them, as the first one was named after his own state."

"When the Americans got wind that the Japanese and German navies were commissioning larger ships," said Sid, "They too started building 45,000-ton ships. They built five of them. These were not only larger, but were fast enough to keep up with the aircraft carriers. The peace treaty with Japan was signed on the quarter deck of USS Missouri, one of the Iowa class ships."

"Didn't Britain build any battleships?" asked Cassie.

"We did." said Sid, "We built seven ships complying with the treaty. We built one larger ship, the Vanguard, but she wasn't finished till the war was over, and never fired a shot in anger."

Before going back to their motel, they had a McDonald's dinner, something they had managed to avoid, apart from the time Cassie needed cheering up after the visit to the nine-eleven memorial. Following the truck driver's advice, they spent the whole of the next day making their way to Huntsville in the North of the state, finding a cheap bed for the night relatively close to the Marshall Space Center.

As the truck driver had indicated, the NASA facility at Huntsville didn't disappoint. This was the only space center in the country where there is on display, a space shuttle complete with its fuel tank and booster rockets. There was, of course, the almost obligatory Saturn V rocket laying on its side and dominating that part of the site. Another exhibit that fascinated Sid, was the X15 rocket plane, which held many speed and altitude records before the space age really got started. While they were on the bus from the museum to the space center itself, Sid mentioned a film he had on a DVD called 'Space Camp'. A lot of it was filmed at Huntsville. Another item that fascinated Cassie was the huge water tank in which astronauts could practice carrying out 'space walks' in the nearest approach to zero gravity obtainable on the earth's surface.

Their next decision they had to make was where to go next. They could make the long journey back to Mobile, or go somewhere else on their way to Houston. Sid had a look at his map of the USA, and noticed that Memphis in Tennessee was not too far away. If at least one of them could find work there, he thought, it might be worth staying there for a couple of months. Their luck had not deserted them. They managed to use their thumbs, the next day, and reached Memphis in Mid-afternoon. During the journey, their driver asked them what they were doing, and suggested a place in Memphis where they might find some short-term employment.

The hotel they were recommended was part of the same group as the one they had worked at in Orlando. After the manager made a quick phone call to the Orlando hotel, they were both taken on in similar roles to those they had in Florida. For the next two months, Sid and Cassie took in the delights of Memphis. They did of course, visit Graceland, Elvis Presley's house. They also spent a whole day exploring Mud Island, where the B-17 bomber 'Memphis Belle' which had survived many bombing raids over Germany without being shot down.

"This is certainly older technology than what we've been looking at in Huntsville." said Cassie.

"It's hard to believe that it was only 25 years between this bomber and Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon." said Sid.

"I wonder if mankind will have found out how to travel faster than light in the next two hundred years." mused Sid, "After all, 'Star Trek' was set in the twenty-third century."

"Only if we survive that long." said Cassie, "The way things are going, we might not."

"That's a depressing thought." said Sid, "Anyway, we two won't be around in that century. I doubt if we'll still be alive at the end of this one."

While they were 'working their passage' in Memphis, they started to have thoughts about where to go next. The Winter was now over, so going back up North was an option, rather than continuing their progress towards Houston and the Johnson Space Center. Looking at the map, Cassie noticed that Nashville looked fairly close by and that there was an interstate highway, the I-40 linking the two cities.

"Do you like country music?" asked Cassie, apparently out of the blue.

"Where did that one come from?" asked Sid, surprised, "I love it."

"When we leave here," said Cassie, "We could spend some time in Nashville. It's not too far. Then we could head North, via St. Louis or Cincinnati to Chicago. Houston can wait until the Autumn."

"You're more than a pretty face." said Sid, "That's a brilliant plan. Then we can see what Iowa is like before heading for warmer areas again. You say Adam came from there. Incidentally, how shall we get to Nashville?"

"Since both Memphis and Nashville are on I40," said Cassie, "I think we might be able to hitch a ride there, if that's okay with you."

With another four weeks to go before they set out for their next destination, after Nashville, their plans for the Summer period were, if not exactly set in stone, decided in outline.

And so, that's what they did. They were fortunate in that they were picked up by another friendly truck driver, who was en route from Dallas to Chicago and welcomed some company for the middle part of his journey. He found their story interesting and wished them luck with their plans. He also gave them some advice regarding things to do in Nashville, which happened to be his home city.

It took them a couple of days to find work in Nashville, but eventually, the couple found similar work to what they had been doing in Orlando and Memphis. They were also fortunate in that accommodation was again provided with the job. One thing they did find was that their English accents were an advantage with some potential employers, but a disadvantage with others. In the restaurant, customers were won over by Cassie's delightful personality and fascinated by her accent. Of course, these features did contribute to their supplementary income from tips.

While they were in Nashville, they managed to take in three country music gigs, and managed to spend most of their spare evenings in bars which provided live country and western music. As they came towards the end of their stay in Nashville, they agreed that, at least musically, they would consider this month as the high point of their journey around the USA. As they left Nashville for a brief stay in the region of Cincinnati, they felt quite sad. The journey to Ohio by Greyhound bus was relatively easy, and they found a cheap bed for a couple of nights quite close to the Kings Island theme park.

"Why have we stopped here?" asked Cassie, not being fully aware of the attraction fifteen minutes' walk away from their motel.

"Kings Island." said Sid, "We can enjoy a few roller coasters, including the world's longest wooden one. If you really enjoy this, we could divert to Cedar Point before we go to Chicago."

"That's a thought." said Cassie, "It's a bit of a diversion, but I like the idea of that. Get a bit of excitement while we're on our way to the Windy City."

Sid and Cassie got up early on the next morning. After a satisfying American breakfast, they made their way the mile or so to Kings Island, getting there just as the ticket offices opened. They found out that Kings Island was operated by Cedar Fair, as were several other parks in the USA. Accordingly, they splashed out on platinum passes, which would pay for themselves on their third visit to one of the company's parks.

"What shal we ride first, the Beast or the Vortex?" asked Cassie, looking at the plan of the park as they walked along.

"I think we'll ride the Beast first as we're headed that way." said Sid.

Since they had arrived early, the was no queue for the ride, and they were able to walk straight on to the ride. It being the first ride, they chose the front seats, so they could appreciate the layout of this huge coaster with its three tunnels and two lift hills. Cassie really loved it. This was the first time she had ridden a large wood roller coaster. Before Reuben was born, her parents had taken her to Oakwood Park and she was just about big enough to ride Megafobia. However, the Beast was so much larger, had many exciting features and, fortunately, didn't have the over-fierce braking at the end of the ride, which is a feature of the Welsh ride.

"I'd love to rid that one again!" said Cassie as they came off the ride.

"We'll come back to it later." said Sid, "Then we can ride in the back car, but let's try the Vortex before the queue gets too long."

They headed for the Vortex roller coaster, which at that time was Kings Island's largest Steel coaster. The queue at the time they arrived at the coaster was about twenty minutes, which Sid felt was acceptable. He had heard stories of people queueing for over two hours in the middle of the day at this park. When they reached the front of the queue, they found that there was a line waiting to ride in the front of the train. They chose to go towards the rear and boarded the next train to come in. Cassie enjoyed this one even more with its corkscrew turn and the two loops. They took in a few of the less frequented rides before lunch.

They had a light sit-down lunch in one of the park's many restaurants and walked it off by exploring some of the shops.

"Would you like to have some airtime?" asked Sid.

"What's that?" asked Cassie.

"It's when you go over the top of a hill on a coaster," said Sid, and you feel,as you are lifted off your seat."

"And how do you propose we do that?" asked Cassie.

"We ride in the back car of the train." said Sid, "Let's try it on the Beast."

This time, they had to wait for about half an hour before riding the coaster. After their rear car experience of the Beast, they once again toured the less frequented rides, before heading back to their motel feeling healthily tired and hungry. Fortunately, there was a diner close by, so they could satisfy their hunger with a steak dinner. They felt they deserved it.

They spent the whole of the next day getting to Sandusky, Ohio. The driver who had responded to their thumbs, dropped them off at a hotel which carried the motto: 'If you sleep any closer, you'll wake up on a roller coaster'. That wasn't quite true, as the establishment was about four miles from Cedar Point, which had a hotel on site. A frequent shuttle bus carried visitors along the spit of land to and from the park. They booked in to the hotel for three nights, then checked out transport connections which would take them to Chicago in three days' time. Now Sid and Cassie had planned their next few days, they could relax and enjoy 'The roller coaster capital of the world'. Before enjoying their sleep, they had a relaxing drink in a nearby bar.

Their platinum tickets allowed admission to the park an hour before holders of 'lesser' tickets. Accordingly, they had an early breakfast and took advantage of this facility. The next decision they had to make was difficult, but pleasant. They had to decide what to ride first. They selected two of the steel coasters, Raptor and Millennium Force, and the two wood coasters, Mean Streak and Blue Streak. Sid found a quarter and did a double coin toss. The outcome was that they would ride Millennium Force first.

Immediately after entering the park, they headed directly towards this 300-foot-high steel coaster. They were able to board it immediately, and rode in the front seats. Cassie found the sheer speed of this coaster excited her. She was also impressed by its smoothness. The rest of the first day was spent riding some of the other coasters, and noting which ones could be ridden on their second day. After they had ridden the Gemini racing coaster, Sid persuaded a reluctant Cassie to ride the Power Tower. He joined her on a 240-foot drop. She seemed scared while they were waiting at the top, screamed as they dropped, then immediately after disembarking, re-joined the queue to do it all over again.

Having started their first day with millennium Force, their second day started with the very different experience of riding a large wooden coaster. They found the experience far more intense than the Beast, as the turns were tighter and the hills steeper. This time, when they went to the Power Tower, they rode one of the 'Space Shots'. This gave them twice as much 'freefall' as the giant drop they had experienced the previous day. By the time Sid and Cassie rode the shuttle bus back to the hotel, they had ridden most of the coasters in the park, as well as some of the other thrill rides. Sid noted that there was another Cedar Fair park at Muskegon in Michigan, so that's where they went to next.

After a well-deserved and relaxing night's sleep, they found transport to Muskegon, via Detroit. They spent one night in 'Motown' before finding their way to Muskegon, getting there the middle of the afternoon.

After booking in for two nights at a cheap hotel, Sid and Cassie had a stroll round this smallish town before having a meal, relaxing in a bar and bedding down for the night. The following morning, the couple made their way to 'Michigan's Adventure, which was the local amusement park. They went first to Shivering Timbers, which the park claimed was the best wooden roller coaster of all time. Since they had entered the park early, they only had to queue for about fifteen minutes. They rode in the back car to get the best airtime. They rode the Wolverine Wildcat twice, so they could try both tracks. Since this was a considerably smaller park than Cedar Point, they only needed one day to enjoy the coasters they wanted to ride.

After another relaxing night spent together, they found a driver who was going round the south of Lake Michigan to Chicago

Using the glowing references, they had gleaned in Orlando, Memphis and Nashville, they succeeded in obtaining some short term hotel work not too far from the lakeshore. They enjoyed the Windy City for six weeks.

While they stayed in Chicago, they had fewer days off than in the three previous places they had worked. However, they did manage to visit some of the city's main attractions, such as the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center, the Navy Pier and the Shedd Aquarium.

While they were in Chicago, Sid and Cassie did manage to spend a couple of days at one more amusement park, but this time they had to pay, as it was a Six Flags park, Great America. They bought a Six Flags ticket, which allowed admission to all the company's parks, as they would be visiting St Louis and two parks in Texas within the next twelve months. Cassie particularly enjoyed the two Wooden coasters, Viper and American Eagle. Since they rode the rear cars on these coasters, they had the maximum amount of airtime.

Towards the end of the month, thoughts turned as to where to go next. Since Cassie had spent a few weeks with Adam, who came from Iowa, she was intrigued as to what the place was like. Accordingly, they decided that their next destination would be Des Moines, the state capital.


	7. Chapter 7: Iowa and the Journey South

**Chapter 7: Iowa and the Next Journey South**

Before the couple left Chicago, Sid got to ask what excited Cassie about the thrill rides they had experienced over the last few weeks.

"Cassie," commenced Sid, "I think I've seen another side to you. I certainly didn't expect you to enjoy those theme park rides as much as you did."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." said Cassie, "For instance, I don't think you know my favourite colour."

"I would guess at yellow." said Sid.

"Well done!" said Cassie, "I do love yellow, because it's bright and cheerful, and suggests sunshine."

"So does your smile." said Sid, "When we were on the wilder roller coasters, like Shivering Timbers we rode yesterday, your sweet face was a picture of total joyous ecstasy. It was beautiful to see. Anyway, I think that by the time we reach the West Coast, I'll know enough about you to know where our relationship is going to go."

"If we stay together that long." said Cassie, "Anything could happen in the next year or so. I might even want to go back to Bristol."

"That would be wonderful." said Sid, "The main reason I came out here was to find you, and hopefully, bring you back home."

"One thing," said Cassie, "We've both enjoyed a lot of different rides in the last few weeks. I'd like to have a rest for a while."

"I think your wish will be granted." said Sid, "From what I've found out about the state, our visits in Iowa will be to a couple of cities and their buildings and museums. I think, provided we can get some work, it'll be a nice, quiet, relaxing Summer."

"That would be good." said Cassie, "Although it's fun riding those coasters, and it does take me out of myself, I'd like a change from constantly rushing around and queueing on our 'rest' days."

The couple managed to find a driver who was going to Iowa City, so that would their first port of call in that state. They left Chicago in the morning, and reached Iowa City at lunchtime. Their accommodation and employment luck still held. Cassie was taken on as a waitress at a diner associated with a hotel in the city, and Sid also found a job at the same hotel.

The next four weeks passed quietly. On most of the days when neither of them were on duty, they visited several of the interesting locations in and around the city.

One evening, they were relaxing in a bar near the city centre, when they had an unexpected encounter.

"Hello, you two," said a vaguely familiar voice, "What on earth are you doing right out here?"

Adam had entered the bar and recognised Cassie.

"I could ask you the same question." said Cassie, "I thought you worked in New York."

"I'm visiting my folks again." said Adam, "A few more problems arose, and they wanted me to help sort them out. Something similar happened last Autumn. That's why I suddenly disappeared. Anyway, what are you two doing in my home city."

"Cass wasn't ready to face Bristol with all its sad memories yet," said Sid, "So we're traveling round your country for a while until she's up to returning home."

"We've just spent a month or so in Chicago," said Cassie, "And, after meeting you in New York, I got to wondering what Iowa was like."

"Where are you going next?" asked Adam.

"Well," said Sid, "After Iowa City, we might go to Des Moines, then head South for the Winter, calling at St Louis on the way. Cassie has discovered a love of really wild roller coasters, so we're visiting a few amusement parks on the way. We've got annual tickets for both the Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks."

"Do those things pay?" asked Adam.

We broke even on the Cedar Fair tickets on our second day at Cedar Point." said Sid, "Since then, we've spent a day at Michigan's Adventure near Muskegon."

"Then, while we were in Chicago, we had two days at Six Flags Great America." said Cassie.

"I guess you're working while you're travelling." said Adam, "Otherwise you must be made of money."

"Yes, we are finding work." said Cassie, "The Alias gave me such a good reference that I found similar work in Miami almost as soon as we got there. We spent four months down there before coming North again. We'll be working here for the next month or so, then we'll try for work in Des Moines before we go South in the Autumn. I believe it gets very cold up here in Winter."

"You can say that again!" said Adam, "Zero degrees isn't uncommon in January."

"That doesn't sound all that cold." said Sid.

"We use Fahrenheit out here." said Adam, "Zero in Fahrenheit is minus eighteen in Celsius."

"I had briefly forgotten about that." said Sid, "Minus eighteen is cold. That's why we'll try to escape Southwards."

"When you're in St Louis," said Adam, "Don't forget to visit the 'Gateway Arch'."

"What's that?" asked Sid.

"It's a huge arch. Imagine half of a McDonald's logo, painted grey, and about five hundred feet high with a viewing gallery at the top." said Adam, "That's the 'Gateway Arch'. It's right on the bank of the Mississippi River. It's the most prominent landmark in St Louis. The view from the top is amazing."

Sid and Cassie spent the rest of the evening describing their adventures in the States, including Cassie's new found enthusiasm for extreme roller coasters. They continued with Adam telling them what was worth seeing in Iowa City and Des Moines and then giving them some hints about what to see in the three cities they intended to visit in Texas: Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. In the course of their discussion, he ascertained that they had already visited the NASA facilities at both Cape Canaveral and Huntsville.

A week later, they arranged to spend another pleasant evening with Adam. This time, he offered to buy them a meal in one of Iowa City's diners, an offer they accepted with thanks. The title of the diner he selected sounded as if it was an electricity supply company, but it offered a wide variety of American fare and was not super expensive. Cassie chose Potato Skins as a starter as she had been introduced to them by Sid. Adam chose Buffalo wings, while Sid selected Onion Rings. For mains, Cassie chose the New York Strip Steak, while Sid had the Fillet of beef. Adam chose a medium Prime Rib of Pork. All three chose seasonal vegetables and Fries. Since they were in the USA with an American friend, all three had apple pie for a dessert. After coffee, they all went to the diner's bar for the evening's drinks. He told them that his family problems were now sorted, and that he was returning to his New York apartment, the next day, so this evening was his way of saying 'goodbye'. They were able to enjoy their farewell drinks, as Sid and Cassie were on late shift and Adam's Greyhound bud didn't leave until midday.

As they parted that evening, Adam said something, which at the time, seemed rather strange.

"Goodbye, and the best of luck in your travels." said Adam, "I have a very strange feeling deep down that I might be seeing you again. I don't know for certain, but I just have this trace of a strange feeling."

"Thank you for all the advice and the good wishes." said Cassie, "If we happen to return to England via New York, we'll look in on you, that way you will see us again."

"But that won't be until at least next Summer." added Sid, "We've got a few coasters to ride down South. Anyway, bye-bye and thanks for the meal. It was excellent."

During their remaining couple of weeks in Ohio City, the continued working at the hotel and following Adam's advice about places to visit. They also took his recommendations regarding a couple of other good places for an evening meal.

The hotel proprietors, knowing that their next intended destination was the state Capital, Des Moines, gave them the address of a hotel they owned in that city, and promised to give them a reference. They succeeded in hitching a lift to Des Moines the following morning, reaching the city around lunchtime. Following the instructions they had been given, it did not take them long to locate the hotel. After a couple of interviews during which their experience of hotel and restaurant work was probed, including their recent month or two in Iowa City, they were taken on for six weeks.

While Sid and Cassie were in Des Moines, they visited the attractions suggested by Adam, and also started to look into their next move. This would be to the City of St Louis on the Mississippi River.

As far as dining out was concerned, they did follow one or two of Adam's suggestions, but also carried out their own research via the Internet.

Adam's parting comment as he left Iowa City began to worry Sid. He felt that the remark was directed at Cassie, rather than both of them. He brought the subject up over a couple of drinks in one of the city's many bars.

"What do you think Adam meant by his parting remarks when he left us?" queried Sid, "It did seem that he was talking to you, rather than both of us as a couple."

"Don't let it worry you." said Cassie, "I'm sure he didn't mean anything significant."

"I suppose not," said Sid, "But it did plant the seeds of a few worries in my mind, and you know my mind is a fertile place for those seeds."

"I know only too well that it is." said Cassie, "You're a born worrier. I suppose that's one of the things that makes you better than Tony. You think about things before acting, but you're also a bit of a pessimist. And that could have bad consequences."

"What do you think I should do about it?" asked Sid.

"You should still think about things before acting," said Cassie, "But try to reject your 'Worst Case Scenarios'. They just meke us both miserable."

"The trouble is that I can't help thinking about all possible outcomes." said Sid, "That's just my nature, I'm afraid."

"Anyway," said Cassie, "Have you thought about how we're going to go South?" asked Cassie.

"I've looked at the map." said Sid, "If our next destination is to be St Louis, we'll probably have to do it in two stages, with a change of direction at Kansas City."

"After St Louis," said Cassie, "I'd like to go to New Orleans before we hit Houston."

"That would mean going to Memphis again." said Sid, "Would you mind that?"

"I'd love that." said Cassie, "There are a few places there I'd like to visit again."

"That's what we'll do then." said Sid.

When their time in Des Moines came to an end, Sid managed, by coincidence, to engage a truck driver in conversation. Their luck was still holding as, the next day, he was going to St Louis himself and was prepared to give them both a lift the whole way. He said the journey would take some time, as he intended to use normal state highways rather than interstates. The distance would be shorter and he would save on diesel. Cassie commented that she might prefer this as she would be able to see more of the 'real' America. She added that most of their travel between cities so far had been on big highways where a traveller could only see the towns and cities he or she actually visited. Another stroke of luck was that the hotel chain also had a property in St Louis, so that provided thre were a couple of vacancies, they would be assured of paid work for another few weeks.

Early the next morning, the driver, true to his word, picked them up outside the hotel, then took them to a local truck stop for breakfast. He was surprised at their agility climbing in and out of his cab. Sid commented that they were now quite used to boarding American eighteen wheelers. The couple soon found out what the driver meant by ordinary state highways. After a few miles of divided highway, they found that US 163 was mainly a single carriageway road. Cassie was fascinated by some of the names of the places they passed through, such as Oskaloosa and Ottumwa. At this last named city, they diverted onto another short stretch of divided highway before joining the US 61 at a place called Mount Pleasant. This road would take them the rest of the way to St. Louis. Another truck stop at Keokuk was the venue for what turned out to be a leisurely lunch. They had made good time, and, providing there were no delays, would reach St. Louis by dinner time.

On the journey, they told the driver about their adventures in the States so far. Cassie also admitted that sha had come to America to help her recover from an emotional trauma back home, and that Sid had crossed the Atlantic to find her. He felt that this was a truly romantic story. They explained that they were now on their way South to escape the intense Winter cold of the Northern Mid-West, and to see the Space Center at Houston as well as riding a few more roller coasters at San Antonio and Arlington in the Spring on their way back North. After that, Cassie said, their plans were fluid, but might involve a visit to Yellowstone National Park to see the geysers. Shortly before dinner time, as expected, they arrived in St. Louis. Their driver very kindly dropped them off right by the hotel where they were going to try to find work. They didn't have to try very hard, as the proprietor of the establishment in Des Moines had advised the St. Louis hotel of their expected time of arrival.

Once they had been interviewed and shown their basement rooms, they were given their rotas. Fortunately, as in previous areas, the couple had a reasonable amount of coincident time off. That meant that they would be able to visit the main attractions in the St. Louis area. The first one of these they visited was the Six Flags theme park. Cassie was delighted to find that there were three large wood roller coasters in addition to the more modern steel tracked ones. These included an interesting linear motor launched coaster and an utterly crazy coaster with cars that spun around.

The Gateway Arch didn't disappoint. Sid and Cassie were lucky in that the day the visited it was crystal clear with maximum visibility in all directions. During the six weeks they stayed in St. Louis, They included a tour of the city's other attractions. While they were in St. Louis, the couple felt they had to keep a low profile, as they had been warned that St. Louis was one of the most dangerous cities in the USA for murder. However, their stay in the city passed without any untoward incidents.

After some discussion, Sid felt that their next working stop would be New Orleans, as they could afford to travel there by Greyhound bus. They planned a two-night stop in Memphis so that they could spend another complete day exploring the whole of Mud Island. All they had managed to do there on their previous visit was to pay homage to the Memphis Belle bomber on display there, although it took them a large portion of the day.

On arrival in the Big Easy, their first priority was to find a bed for the night. They booked into a cheap motel and, after a peaceful night, spent most of the next dal looking for work. They found that their English accents counted for a lot, as did the references they were given from the premises in Des Moines and St. Louis. Their employment in New Orleans lasted for two whole months, before they felt it was time to move on to Houston. They were again fortunate in that, since they were both working irregular shifts, accommodation was provided for them. Cassie was glad to be back in a place where it was warm, as the Autumn was beginning to take hold in St. Louis. One thing they did notice was that eating out was more expensive as the city was a major tourist destination for both Americans and foreigners. Accordingly, they didn't go out to eat as much as they did in Des Moines or Iowa City.

Once their two months were up, Sid, as was becoming usual at regular intervals, made use of Western Union to send some money home, to cover his use of his credit card. Liz found Sid's credit card bills interesting and reassuring, as they gave an account of his travels in the States with Cassie.

Sid and Cassie succeeded in befriending a trucker who was willing to take them to their next major destination, Houston, in Texas. During the journey, they talked and the couple learnt even more about the life of a long-distance trucker in the USA. Their new friend was also interested in their stories about their sojourn in the States. He also found Cassie's story about her escape from the trauma of Chris's death and Sid's quest to find her one of the most romantic tales he'd heard.

Finally, in the evening they arrived in Houston and found a bed for the first night. Once again, they intended to try to find a couple of months work the next day. However, Sid received a surprising phone call. The establishment in New Orleans had another premise in Houston. The New Orleans hotel had phoned ahead and recommended them, provided they arrived at the hotel by lunchtime the next day. Once again, any potential pitfalls had been removed. However, an aspect of Sid's natural pessimism was gradually surfacing. He was beginning to feel that things were going too well, and that something was about to go very wrong.


	8. Chapter 8: Texas

**Chapter 8: Texas**

Houston is the site of 'Mission Control' for the US Space program. It is possibly better known than Cape Canaveral. It is also relatively close to Galveston, where the battleship USS Texas is on display and forms part of a US Navy museum. The city was the first stopping point for Sid and Cassie in the State of Texas. As there were a few interesting places to visit in and around Houston, the couple were happy that their reputation had preceded them and a couple of short-term jobs were waiting for them. It meant that they didn't have to spend the first couple of days searching for employment.

Sid was beginning to think that things were going too well and that their luck was bound to run out in due course. It was going to, of course, but that was some way into the future and would be the result of a totally unexpected turn of events, which would have far reaching consequences. Sid had this niggling worry in the back of his mind. When he raised it with Cassie, she told him not to be such a 'worry guts' and to enjoy life while they had a following wind. Sid did grudgingly accept this and realised that he might be worrying over nothing. He decided that he would try to put pessimistic thoughts out of his mind and enjoy the present time. Cassie told him his motto should be 'Carpe Diem', which meant 'Sieze the day'.

Once their rotas for the next two months had been sorted, they could begin to plan their visits in Houston and Galveston. The Johnson Space Center was obviously their main target, and they planned to visit it twice. The Six Flags Astro World theme park had long since closed, so they were unable to ride any roller coasters on this visit. On their third week, they both had Wednesday and Thursday off, so they were able to go to Galveston and spend most of one of those days looking round the USS Texas museum, which, like the USS Alabama museum in Mobile, had quite a few military aircraft on display, including an SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. In the evening, they took in one of Galveston's 'Ghost' tours, it being reputed to be the most haunted city in the US. They returned to Houston late at night, so it was fortunate that both their Friday shifts began at midday.

The Johnson Space Center in Houston itself lived up to their expectations. On display was the almost obligatory Saturn V rocket. Cassie found the most interesting outdoor exhibit to be the modified Boeing 747 airliner with a space shuttle mounted on top of its fuselage. A thought occurred to Cassie while she was looking at the Saturn V.

"Wouldn't it be easier to use wings and jet engines to get a spaceship up to twelve miles and supersonic speeds," said Cassie, "Then only use rockets to get it into orbit. The shuttle was a brilliant idea for landing. Why couldn't they do the reverse. After all, all the huge fuel tank and the booster rockets do for the shuttle is lift it, and themselves to the edge of the atmosphere, then the shuttle itself takes over."

"You're a lot more than a really beautiful face." said Sid, "You've been thinking about this. I think Richard Branson is thinking along similar lines. He wants to send fare-paying tourists into space. It's early stages yet, but he's started a company called 'Virgin Galactic'. The man behind Tesla cars is also looking at more economic ways of achieving orbital flight."

In the course of their visit, they also visited the mission control room, from where NASA's space flights are directed. A video was shown of the first moon landing. They also had a brief talk about the rescue, for that's what it was, of Apollo 13.

The rest of their stay in Houston passed pleasantly. During their time there, they got to know the city quite well. At the end of the Winter, Sid and Cassie managed to hitch a ride with a trucker along the I-10 Interstate Highway to their next intended destination, The city of San Antonio. Like their previous drivers, he was interested in hearing about their travels, and about Cassie's new found interest in roller coasters. He also gave them ideas about what they might want to see on their way North to Yellowstone National Park. They arrived in San Antonio in mid-afternoon and planned to stay there for a month if they found suitable work. Fortunately, they happened on a hotel in the same chain as the one that employed them in Orlando, and were offered work with some, albeit basic, accommodation.

Since their main reason for visiting San Antonio was to spend at least one day at Six Flags Fiesta, that's where they went on their first coincident day off. At the time they went there, the large wood coaster, the Rattler, was still running. Its main feature was the drop through a tunnel, emerging at speed half way down a cliff. One of the coasters ran backwards for the whole of the ride. Cassie didn't appreciate this much, as she did like to see where she was going. At least the Boomerang did travel in a forward direction for half the ride. At the end of their day at the park, they felt that it would be worth a second visit. Only brief visits to some of San Antonio's other attractions were possible, as most of their other coincident free time consisted of half days. During the month, there was only one more whole day they could enjoy together. Naturally, they made the most of the times when they had a free afternoon and evening, as they could enjoy some of the city's 'night life'. By this time, the winter was drawing to a close, and it was time for Sid and Cassie to start heading North.

On their way, ultimately, to Yellowstone National Park, there was at least one more theme park to be visited. This was Six Flags over Texas at Arlington, which is about half way between Dallas and Fort Worth. When they gave the proprietor of the hotel notice that they were leaving, he asked them where they were going. When they said they were intending to spend several weeks in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, he gave them the address of a hotel there, and told them he was sorry to see them go.

After their last night in San Antonio, they managed to blag a ride to Dallas. On the way there, their driver, to make conversation, asked them what brought them to the USA. Cassie recounted the story of her escaping the trauma of witnessing the sudden death of her best friend, and how Sid had crossed the Atlantic Ocean to look for her. Sid told of his desperate search all over Manhattan for the girl he loved, and how he found her working in a diner. They told him about their adventures so far and what they hoped to do and see during the rest of their odyssey across the States. They mentioned Yellowstone National Park with its geysers and the Grand Canyon. He suggested that if they found time, they would find the Grand Teton Park and Bryce Canyon interesting from a geological point of view. In conclusion, he suggested that if they got to California, they should visit Yosemite National Park and see the big trees there. Some of them, he said, were thirty feet across at the base and nearly three hundred feet high. They were already impressive trees at the time of Christ. Sid bought him lunch at a truck stop en route, and they arrived in Dallas in the very late afternoon.

The establishment mentioned by the proprietor of the previous hotel wasn't hard to find. They found that they were expected and, after a couple of very brief interviews they were taken on. They were luckier with their days off in Dallas, as they had four coincident days off in their first four weeks. Two of these were consecutive. The proprietor of this hotel felt that as they were a couple, they had been given a hard deal in San Antonio. They decided that the two single days would be spent visiting Six Flags over Texas, and the pair of days would be used to have a look at Fort Worth, the other large city in this part of Texas. Sid mentioned that Dallas was the setting for a long-running drama series on American television, which was in competition with another series which was set in Denver Colorado.

"Will we be going to Denver?" asked Cassie.

"Yes," said Sid, "We should pass through it on the way to Yellowstone. Both Dallas and Dynasty concerned the lives, loves and rivalries of rich tycoons in the oil industry."

They started work, and planned their programme of sightseeing in Dallas. Of course, this would have to include the location of the most recent presidential assassination, that of John F Kennedy in 1963. They were pleasantly surprised to find that Dallas was reasonably supplied with public transport, including a free streetcar around the central area. Their hotel was near Downtown Dallas, so they didn't have to travel very far to see the many central Dallas attractions.

Six Flags over Texas was 20 miles away in Arlington, so they had to use the train to get to that city. When they got there, they were disappointed to find that the principal roller coaster, the Texas Giant was no longer operating and that a new steel coaster was being built to replace it. However, they did manage to ride most of the other eleven operating rides on their first day. Their second day was used re-riding some of their preferred rides from the first day, and trying the ones they had not ridden. When they were queueing for 'Superman, The Ride' Sid commented that this coaster was like a longer version of the Nemesis ride at Alton Towers back in England, which his dad had taken him to when he was just big enough to ride it.

They also managed to spend their two consecutive days off in Fort Worth, spending a night in a cheap hotel there, as it was 27 miles away. They found, much to their liking that Fort Worth issued a day ticket, which allowed travel with no further cost, on all buses and local trains in the Fort Worth area. They saw as much as they could of the city in their two days there and, since they were staying overnight, they were able to enjoy a pleasant dinner in a local diner.

In their second month in Dallas they were able to spend some whole days in that City, taking full advantage of the free streetcar, as well as revisiting Fort Worth on their second pair of free days. Among the Fort Worth attractions that they visited this time, were the botanic gardens as the weather was getting warmer.

One evening before they had thought about departing for the road back North, Sid was studying his compact atlas of the USA.

"What are you looking at?" asked Cassie.

"I guess I'm planning our next move." said Sid, "There doesn't seem to be a direct route from here to Denver using interstate highways. In any case, I think it's too far to go in one stage."

"So you're looking to see where we could make overnight stops on the way there." said Cassie, "I suppose the other thing we've got to decide is whether to use Greyhound buses or try to hitch a ride."

"That does come into it." said Sid, "If we use the interstates, we've got two options. Either we go West into New Mexico before going North, or we head North towards Oklahoma City. Once we're beyond Denver, the route to Yellowstone is nearly all on ordinary highways, whether or not you've seen 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'."

"What's that got to do with anything?" asked Cassie, wondering what Sid was talking about.

'In the North-East of Wyoming," said Sid, "there's an old basalt stack. It used to be the core of a volcano. It's called 'The Devil's Tower'. It featured strongly in that film."

"And I suppose you'd like to see it?" queried Cassie.

"I would, if it's not too much of a diversion." said Sid.

"I think we should make that decision once we've left Denver." said Cassie, "It also depends whether we find paid work in the Mile-high-city."

Now that Spring was well under way, they felt it was time to move on. Their route Northwards was to take them to their next work stop, Denver, Colorado. They decided that,since their finances were fairly healthy, to use the buses for at least part of the trip, which they anticipated would take three days. They would therefore have to pay for two-or-three nights overnight accommodation.

Their luck was still holding. On the way to the Greyhound bus station, they stopped for a coffee, as Cassie said she could do with one. In the coffee shop, they were engaged in conversation by a trucker, who after hearing the story of their adventures so far, agreed to take them part of the way, as he was headed North from Dallas. He was waiting for his trailer to be loaded before he could depart. Their route was thus decided. He was headed for Kansas City that day, but he would go a little out of his way to drop them off at a town called Salina on the I-70 interstate between Kansas City and Denver.


	9. Chapter 9: Rocky Mountain High

**Chapter 9: Rocky Mountain High**

As they boarded the truck for their journey North to Denver, the driver explained that his diversion via Salina wasn't entirely for their benefit. It was just that he preferred to use the free interstate highways rather than pay to use the turnpikes. The direct route from Wichita to Kansas City was a turnpike. It was still comparatively early in the morning, and the eighteen wheeler made good progress out of the Dallas area and headed North along the interstate highway. By the time they reached Denton, they were on the I-35 and making good progress. Their driver was keeping in touch with other truckers, who kept him informed about the location of police patrols, the manning of weighbridges etcetera. Sid and Cassie had already told the driver part of their Story when they were in the coffee shop. They were soon crossing the state boundary into Oklahoma. The driver suggested some music as the truck approached Oklahoma City. Sid said "okay". Seeing assign indicating I-44 to Tulsa, he put on Gene Putney's 'Twenty-Four hours to Tulsa', which was a song about a truck driver one day away from his love. Their driver commented that he would put on another geographically relevant song a bit later in the journey.

Just beyond Oklahoma City, they pulled into a truck stop, where they had an early lunch. As they got under way again, their driver, knowing that their next destination was Denver, told them he had been in touch on the radio with some of his friends, and that he might be able to find them a ride to the Mile High City. True to his word, as the truck approached Wichita, in Kansas, Glen Campbell's 'Wichita Lineman' was playing.

"This is where we leave the turnpike." said their driver as they negotiated the junction which oils take them onto the I-135 interstate highway to Salina.

As they were passing Wichita, Sid's mobile phone rang. He answered it. It appeared that their luck was still holding. The caller was the manager of a hotel in Denver which was in the same group as the ones they had worked in at both San Antonio and Dallas.

"Could you two get here by tomorrow evening?" asked the manager.

"That is the general idea." said Sid.

"Where are you now." asked the Manager.

"Somewhere between Wichita and Salina." said Sid, "We plan to spend a night in Salina and travel to Denver in the morning. When we actually get there depends on the trucker who's offered to take us from Salina to Denver."

"That's okay!" said the manager, We'll be expecting you. By the way, I like your accent."

He concluded by giving Sid precise instructions regarding the location of the hotel in Denver.

That evening their driver pulled in to a truck stop in Salina and indicated the best place for them to spend the night without paying too much. He also confirmed a pick-up time and place, the next morning, so that his colleague could pick them up for the day's journey to Denvar. They had arrived in Salina early enough to have dinner and a nightcap before turning in for the night. Their bedroom was basic, comfortable and somewhat better than the ones they had slept in in San Antonio and Dallas.

In order to meet their driver, they were waiting at the truck stop at six in the morning. Shortly after meeting him, they went to the diner at the truck stop for breakfast. At seven, the truck was under way Westwards along the I-70 interstate. Oklahoma is relatively flat prairie country with small towns serving the agricultural community, so they made good progress along the highway.

As on previous occasions, the driver was interested in how this young English couple came to be in the Mid-West and travelling around the United States. He found Sid's transatlantic quest to search for the girl he loved particularly touching, as he, himself had experienced something similar. However, he only had to cross the continent to find the girl of his dreams after her family had moved, for employment reasons from Allentown in Pennsylvania to Salinas in California. Her father, to obtain promotion in his company, he had to move to the West coast.

The music preferred by this driver was mainly Country and Western. He particularly liked bands which featured a pedal steel guitar. Cassie found the sound of this instrument entrancing and often seemed to go into a dreamlike state when she heard a long solo. Back home, Sid did have some of this genre in his collection, but didn't realise that Cassie loved it so much. He now realised why Cassie was so sad when it was time to leave Nashville. Both Sid and Cassie were delighted when he played the album 'Home Home on the Road' by the New Riders of the Purple Sage. This was not long before their first rest break as this driver believed in not driving for too long between rest stops. He had experienced beginning to fall asleep at the wheel, but managed to save the situation before an accident occurred. Accordingly, just before ten o'clock they pulled into another truck-stop for coffee and a leg stretch.

This particular stop appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, with no sizeable towns nearby. As they got under way again, this led to a discussion about what constituted a village, a town and a city. Sid had remarked that a lot of places, which would be average sized towns in England were called cities in the USA.

"In Britain," said Sid, "For a town to have City status, certainly in the past, it would have to have both an Anglican cathedral and a university. Most of our cities also had populations of around a million. Out here, it seems, even quite small towns are called cities."

"I guess we have a different idea on what makes a city over here." said their driver.

After a further three hours, the truck pulled off the interstate again, this time for a longer stop. It was lunchtime. It had been a clear sunny morning, and when they made their second stop. There appeared to be a line of snow capped mountains on the far Western horizon. They were nearly at their destination, the city of Denver in Colorado. Although they had been just sitting and relaxing for the last three hours, listening to the driver's tales about his adventures on the interstate highways, both Sid and Cassie felt hungry.

Sid, Cassie and the driver went in to the trucker's diner and enjoyed an American lunch. Once the truck was under way for the relatively short final leg into Denver, the driver asked them about their plans during and after their stay in the city. Sid told them about their projected visit to Yellowstone National Park, and their plans to go south via the Grand Canyon, hopefully ending up in Los Angeles for the Winter. The driver gave them some suggestions for day trips out of Denver as well as giving them some practical advice on the best way to try to reach Yellowstone. He suggested that it would be better to try to do it in two stages. The first day would take them to Casper in Wyoming. That's where the interstate changes direction to go to Billings in Montana. By the end of the second day, they should have reached Yellowstone.

All the time they were on this final leg of their day's journey, the mountains were becoming clearer, also, the land was becoming hillier as the entered the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

"That looks so beautiful!" exclaimed Cassie, as the mountains came more clearly in view.

"Imagine what the first Europeans must have thought when they were confronted by those mountains, after hundreds of miles of flat grassland." said the driver, "There are main highways through them now, but back then they would have seemed to be an impassable barrier."

Their previous driver had told this one about their intended destination in Denver, and they were dropped off only fifty yards from the front door of the hotel. Although Sid had bought both breakfast and Lunch, he left a fifty dollar bill with the driver as he thanked him for the lift.

They entered the hotel and made themselves known to the receptionist. The manager came down and introduced himself.

"You two have made good time from Salina." said the manager, "And wow! Our crew in Dallas didn't tell me you were so beautiful."

"Thank you so much," said Cassie, "I try to look reasonably good if I can."

Her light, gentle voice, and her English accent enchanted the manager.

"I'm beginning to realise why you left such an impression with my friend in Dallas." said the Manager, "I'll show you to your accommodation."

He took them to their basement room, and let them relax briefly before calling them back to his office for a couple of brief interviews. They were taken on, and their rotas were prepared. As in Dallas, they did have a weekend free as well as a couple of coincident single days during their proposed six week stay in the city. As in their previous short-tern jobs, they spent their first few shifts learning the layout of the premises. They also got to find out which areas of the city were 'safe', and which areas to avoid if they could. Sid also researched whether they could get to see some of the nearby Rocky Mountain scenery on their free weekend.

Somehow, he managed to arrange a long day trip to the Rocky Mountains National Park. They also managed to visit most of the city's attractions including a rock concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

As the six weeks passed, there were indications that Cassie was getting tired of the constant moving on. She didn't seem quite so eager to fit in with Sid's ideas. However, they did get to see what they wanted in Denver, including a long day excursion to the Rocky Mountains National Park. Cassie had used her charm and her accent to persuade a couple they had met in a bar near the hotel and engaged in conversation to include them. They saw the logic of making use of the spare seats in a five seater car. Their work experience was fruitful in that it paid reasonably, and Cassie's income from tips was at least as much as her wages. Sid did quite well out of tips as well, it seemed the kind of people who stayed in the Mile High City were quite generous.

They felt they had to make the most of what they made in Denver, as they believed that they were unlikely to get any more employment until they reached Phoenix in Arizona. Their next main destination was Yellowstone National Park, but that was almost two states away. Not long before Sid and Cassie were due to head North towards Yellowstone, the manager of the hotel asked them about their ideas for the next few weeks ov their travels. When told about their proposed route, he mentioned that the chain had premises in Casper in Wyoming and Salt Lake City in Utah. He did point out that they would probably get a ride to Casper without much difficulty, and from there they should be able to get to Yellowstone. From Denver to Casper, he said, the interstate went the way they wanted to go, but the journey would be on quite minor roads after that. He said that it was very unlikely that they would be able to get o Yellowstone in one hop. In any case, he said, the distance from Denver to Yellowstone could easily make it a two day journey.

"Are you saying that there's a place in Casper that might take us on for a few weeks?" asked Cassie.

"In a word, 'yes'." said the manager, "Call us when you know when you're going to get there, and I'll make sure they're expecting you. Don't let it go to your head, but during the past six weeks, you two have been an asset to this hotel. I'm very sorry to see you go but you have ambitions to see our wonderful country, so I won't stand in your way."

Thank you." said Sid, "You've been very helpful."

With this they said farewell to the hotel in Denver. It didn't take them very long to blag a ride to Casper, as all that part of their intended route was on an Interstate highway. Once they had settled down in the truck's cab, Sid called the manager of the Denver hotel and let him know they were expecting to arrive in Casper fairly late in the afternoon as it was a five hour journey, and there would be a lunch stop somewhere along the way.

As on previous trips between cities, their driver was interested in what they were doing in the States, and was also touched by Cassie's story of Chris's sudden death and her escape to New York. All the time they were travelling along Interstate I - 25, it was obvious they were on the border between the prairies and the Rocky Mountains. To their right, the land was flat, while range after range of mountains could be seen on the left.

This part of their exploration of America was more pleasant as the weather was clear and not too hot. Also there wasn't very much traffic on this road. Their lunch stop was made at the quaintly named town of Chugwater, and they reached Casper about mid-afternoon.

Once they found the hotel, they made themselves known to the receptionist, who fortunately had been briefed about their expected arrival. They were given brief interviews during which their previous employment before Denver was discussed, including their four months in Orlando. They were shown to their, albeit basic accommodation and given their rotas.

Since Casper was not one of Wyoming's major tourist honeypots, they found that eating and drinking out was not as expensive as it had been in their previous stopping places. Over a drink at a local bar, they started to think about their next move. Obviously their next main 'tourist' destination was going to be Yellowstone National Park, but Sid's interest in science fiction films suggested another visit before they went there. He had seen and enjoyed the film 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', and expressed a wish to see the mountain featured in the film, Devils Tower, which was in the far North-East corner of Wyoming.

They were helped in this endeavour towards the end of their period in Casper, when they were engaged in conversation by another youngish couple, who had hired a car and were on a leisurely tour of the United States between employers. They had heard Sid and Cassie's English accents and were intrigued. This couple said that they were shortly going to leave Casper and drive to Devils Tower before they themselves were going to visit Yellowstone.

Would you two like to come along with us for a few days?" asked the man.

"Most certainly," said Sid, "If you can put up with some extra load for a couple of days."

"That's okay," he said, "We could do with some company."

Now that their decision had been made, they could plan their next move after Yellowstone. The next place they intended to look for work was Salt Lake City in Utah. Until then they would have to stay overnight in cheap hotels and live like holidaymakers. As they informed the hotel management they were moving on, they were asked about their next prolonged stop. On being told that they would be in Salt Lake City in a couple of weeks, they were given the name and phone number of a contact in a hotel there who might be interested in employing them for a few weeks. Now he knew the exact dates he would be at Yellowstone National Park; Sid phoned ahead and made a reservation for four nights at one of the hotels in the park, as the couple whose car they were sharing had already made their reservations there.

"Where are you going immediately after Yellowstone?" asked the man.

"We're hoping to get a few weeks work in Salt Lake City," said Sid, "Before go to see the Grand Canyon."

"Would you mind tagging along with us in Yellowstone?" asked the man, "While we're there, we plan to visit the Grand Teton on one of the three days. Afterwards, we can drop you off in Pocatello, where your route goes South to the Mormon City, and we drive across the Idaho lava plain. You should be able to get a ride from there."

"Thank you." said Sid, "That would be more than helpful. I don't know how we can repay you for your kindness."

"That's okay!" said the man, "A few years ago we were in the position of having to uses buses and hitch rides to get around, so we feel we're helping another pair of young wanderers."

The journey to Sundance along normal state and national highways proved interesting and pleasant. Sid paid for meals by way of paying for their lift. They spent a night in a motel in Sundance, before visiting the Devils Tower early the next morning. Sid presumed that Sundance in Wyoming was the place the 'Sundance Kid' hailed from in the movie: 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'.

The Devils Tower National Monument lived up to its expectations. All four had seen the 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' film, so the place had more of a significance than being just an interesting geological formation. The car was stopped at viewpoints on the approach to the tower for photographs to be taken. They spent some time in the visitor center before strolling right round the base of this stack of columnar basalt, marvelling at the size of some of the hexagonal columns. Once again, as they left the monument on their way to Yellowstone, the stopped for pictures before finally saying farewell to the site of the alien landing in 'Close Encounters'. One of the features which delighted Cassie were the large numbers of prairie dogs in colonies in the region of the tower.

They had satisfied their curiosity about the Devils Tower. They realised that it did actually exist and wasn't a product of CGI technology. Once they were out of sight of the tower, they started out on their journey to a hotel at Grant Village in Yellowstone National Park. This would take the whole day.

When they reached Interstate I-90, at Moorcroft, they stayed on it until they reached a town called Sheridan. There they found a Denny's and had lunch. After another short drive along the interstate to the last intersection before the border with Montana, they joined US-14, which would take them all the way to the park.


	10. Chapter 10: Yellowstone and the Tetons

**Chapter 10: Yellowstone and the Tetons**

Once the car had left the interstate, they drove along a 'normal' two lane highway. This was US-14. Since it was Summer, the route their driver chose was the more mountainous alternative route, which is closed in Wintertime. This passed near several ten thousand-foot peaks. This was the main ridge of the Rocky Mountains. As the road climbed into the mountains, they could see the level plains of the prairies behind them. The going would be slower from now on.

They made a few stops along the way, one at 'Medicine Wheel', an ancient native American shrine high in the mountains. The views from this place were really memorable. Once they had passed the town of Cody, the route all the way to the park followed the course of the north fork of the Shoshone River which, at this point in its course, is a turbulent stream flowing rapidly down a steep sided valley.

At last, they entered Yellowstone National Park by the East entrance. And made their way to their hotel in Grant Village. They did not make any stops on the way there. It was early evening by the time the four travellers checked in to the hotel. They were allocated their bedrooms, parked their luggage and had a look at the nearest visitor center, which was still open, where they obtained some information about the park. As they were hungry, they had dinner and spent the rest of the evening discussing their plans in a bar over a few drinks.

"I hope you two are tolerant of high altitudes," said their travelling companion, whose name was David, "Because most of this park is round about eight thousand feet above sea level."

"We seem to be okay at the moment," said Sid, "But we have been climbing up to this level over several weeks, so I guess we're used to it by now."

"Have you had any thoughts about the next couple of days?" asked David.

"Looking at the info we've just picked up," said Sid, "I suppose 'Old Faithful' should be one of our visits."

"Yes." said David, "I'm planning to go there tomorrow morning if the weather's okay."

"It should be." commented Caroline, David's wife, "The forecast said it's going to be warm and sunny, with a possibility of a shower later on."

"Very well!" said David, "Old Faithful it is, immediately after breakfast. Don't forget, it'll take half an hour for us to drive there."

This discussion continued for the rest of the evening, by which time the foursome had more or less organised what they were going to do for the next three days. The next day's visit to the 'Old Faithful' geyser was the only thing that was 'set in stone'. What exactly they did next would depend on how long they would have to wait for the geyser to erupt. The other thing which had been decided, was that they would go South to the Grand Teton National Park on the middle day. That way, they would reach an interstate highway sooner by leaving Yellowstone by the Western entrance on the fourth day.

"I think that we're going to see some very strange things in the next three days." said Sid, as they were making themselves at home in their bedroom.

"As long as the whole place doesn't go up while we're here." observed Cassie.

"What do you mean?" asked Sid.

"We're sitting on what is, perhaps the world's largest super volcano." said Cassie, "While you two men were discussing our plans for this visit, I was looking through some of the literature we collected at the visitor Center. Yellowstone is due for another really big eruption. It could happen soon, or not for another hundred thousand years."

"Don't worry about that." said Sid, "I'm sure there would be some warning signs well before anything serious happens, and we'll have plenty of time to escape."

"That's one of the things I both love and hate about you, Sid." said Cassie, "You're the eternal optimist. Even when things are going 'pear shaped', most of the time, you seem to be able to find a bright side."

"That's only since I met you, my sweet Cass." said Sid, "Before then, I invariably found the cloud when I was shown the silver lining. Anyway, not long ago you were telling me off for considering 'worst case scenarios'."

With this, both Sid and Cassie prepared for bed. They shared the shower and had a comfortable night. They were both up and about by seven o'clock the next morning ready for breakfast and a long day of sightseeing. They met David and Caroline at the diner, where all four settled down to an American breakfast. Cassie exercised her sweet tooth and had pancakes and maple syrup with her scrambled eggs. Sid had gammon and pineapple, while David and Caroline had steak and eggs.

"What do you think the chances are of this place blowing up while we're here?" asked David, "Caroline was worrying me with that thought last night."

"I would think almost zero." said Sid, "Volcanoes don't just erupt without any warning, and things seem pretty quiet here at the moment. Cassie had the same thoughts last night just before we went to bed. In any case, if this one did blow up, there'd be nowhere to run to. Apart from the absence of radiation, the result would be worse than a thermonuclear world war."

"With that cheerful thought," said David, "It's time to leave on our geyser spotting expedition. Let's go and see how faithful this old geyser is."

All four wandered out to the parking lot, and embarked on the half hour drive to 'Old Faithful'. When they arrived there, they were greeted with the news that the geyser had erupted in the last five minutes or so. This meant that they would have to wait about three quarters of an hour before pressure built up again for the next eruption. They spent about half an hour browsing the visitor Center and the bookshop before taking up their viewing positions facing the mouth of the geyser. After they had been waiting for about twenty minutes, there was a sudden gush of water from the geyser. This was followed by a roar and a massive jet of boiling water and steam being hurled vertically upwards from the vent. It reached a height of about seventy-five feet before subsiding. As it was a cool and completely windless morning, the steam drifted straight up for a couple of hundred more feet before being carried off by the slight air movement at that altitude. 'Old Faithful' would now be quiescent for the best part of the next hour.

"Well, that was worth waiting for." said Cassie, "I've read about it in books, but I've never actually seen anything like it before."

"Is everyone feeling okay?" asked David, "No headaches or anything."

"No. We're good." said Sid, "Why do you ask?"

"A headache is one of the symptoms of altitude sickness." said David, "Last year, we went to Peru, and visited the 'Sacred Valley of the Incas' and Macchu Picchu. We flew from Lima to Cuzco. We had gone up over eight thousand feet in a couple of hours. We both had headaches. The hotel in Cuzco gave us coca leaves to chew, and served coca tea. We did feel better for it."

"I guess we're not suffering because, as I've mentioned, our climb to this altitude has taken several weeks." said Sid, "We've spent a few weeks at five thousand feet in Denver and more in Casper. Last year, you got into a plane at sea level, and less than two hours later you were up at eight thousand feet."

"That was a bit sudden." said Cassie, "I don't know for certain, but I think I'd have problems if I went up to eight thousand feet in a couple of hours. The pressure in the aircraft cabin was possibly higher than the ambient pressure in Cuzco."

Over breakfast, and in the car on the way to 'Old Faithful' Cassie and Caroline were studying the map of the park in the guide they had bought the previous evening at the Visitor Center.

"I guess this visit determines the direction we travel around the 'figure of eight'." said Cassie.

"Just so." said David, "We're going to see a few of the smaller geysers in the park, plus some other geothermal phenomena."

During the latter part of the morning, the little group of four visited a couple of the nearby geyser basins, before moving on to the 'Fountain Paint Pot', the 'Artist' paint pots, and the Beryl Spring. Their route was to take them down the valley of the Firehole River towards Norris Junction. They would not stop there as they would be visiting it again later in the day.

"I've never seen water that colour before." commented Cassie as she was looking at the many-hued paint pots.

"I guess you've never been to the other two major hydrothermal places in the world." said David.

"Where are they?" asked Cassie.

"New Zealand and Iceland." said David.

"Have you been to them?" asked Sid.

"We haven't been to Iceland," said David, "But two years ago we toured New Zealand. There are geothermal places all over the North Island. All over Rotorua, there are little steaming hot springs, and you can smell the sulphur in the air."

"You must travel about quite a bit." said Sid.

"We're trying to visit some of the more interesting places in the world before we start having children." said David.

"That sounds sensible." said Sid, "Children do tend to tie you down, and then there's a limit to the types of holiday you can take."

"And they're expensive, once their education starts." added Caroline.

Just before lunchtime, they arrived at Canyon Village, and made their way to the parking lot nearest to Inspiration Point, from where they could look back at the area they had just driven through. The next item on the agenda was a meal, so they located a diner in Canyon Village and had lunch. After their meal, they started driving around the Northern half of the 'figure of eight' pausing at intervals to see Mount Washburn, the Tower Falls and the petrified trees. Their next longish stop was at Mammoth Springs. Here was one of the more unusual sights in Yellowstone, the Minerva Terraces. These were a series of cascades, where as hot mineral rich water from deep under the earth fell over each of the little terraces, depositing its minerals as it cooled.

"I'm glad I've seen this." said David, "When we were in New Zealand, we read about something like this, which was buried by a volcanic mudslide."

"That was a pity." remarked Sid, "At least this one has survived."

The next part of their route included the 'Obsidian Cliff', an outcrop consisting of volcanic glass. This stirred some of Sid's film and Star Trek memories.

"I seem to remember the vulcanologist Harry Dalton in Dante's Peak had a little chunk of Obsidian." said Sid, "I think he gave it to one of the children."

Once again reaching Norris Junction, they repeated their drive along the twelve miles to Canyon Village. This time, they turned South to return to their hotel at Grant Village. The first part of the route closely followed the turbulent Yellowstone River in its deep, steep sided valley. The first sightseeing stop was at the Upper Yellowstone Falls, where the river falls over a hundred feet down a cliff. Cassie noticed at various points around the park, that there were sections of valley side that appeared to consist of a lot of vertical shafts of rock bunched together.

"What do you think that layer of rock is?" asked Cassie, "I've seen several like it around the park."

"It's a layer of solidified basalt lava." said Sid, "There's something like this in Northern Ireland. It's called the Giant's Causeway. When it cools, basalt shrinks and splits into, usually, hexagonal columns. Why you're looking at is a whole lot of them half way up a cliff. We saw some back at Devils Tower."

After they passed Fishing Bridge, the road followed the North-West shore of Yellowstone Lake. Unlike the non-stop drive to their hotel the previous evening, they stopped several times to appreciate the lakeshore scenery. Their longest stop was at the West Thumb geyser basin.

"They certainly make it easy to walk around here." said Sid, "There are boardwalks everywhere."

"I think that's to stop people's feet damaging the surface." said David, "I believe it's quite unstable under a thin, brittle crust, so the boardwalks are essential."

"As well as being very hot." remarked Caroline, "The ground, not the boardwalks."

By the time they had completed the 'figure of eight' circuit and returned to Grant Village, it was nearly time for dinner. After freshening up in their rooms, all four went to the diner and enjoyed a well-earned American dinner.

After dinner, they spent the rest of the evening in the associated bar planning their visit to Grand Teton National Park, the next day. The weather forecast was good with broken cloud and the remote possibility of a light shower, so they would be able to enjoy the views of the mountains.

As forecast, the next day dawned bright and warm with a few half-hearted clouds in the sky. A hearty breakfast was enjoyed in the diner before the car headed South out of the park towards the nearby Grand Teton National Park. It was still quite early as they passed Flagg Ranch, which is on the short stretch of road between the two parks.

The main feature of Grand Teton National Park is not so much the mountains themselves, but the abrupt way they rise up from the relatively flat land and Jackson Lake. Several of these mountains are over ten thousand feet high. There are a couple over thirteen thousand feet. They still look impressive, even though the surface of Jackson Lake is nearly seven thousand feet above sea level.

Once they had passed Flagg Ranch Village, it was not long before the car reached the entrance to Grand Teton National Park. David drove relatively gently as they went South along the main highway through the park. This was so that his passengers could appreciate the scenery. Their first main stop was for coffee and information at the Colter Village Information Center. They spent some time there, as it is right down by the lakeside. Cassie gasped when she caught sight of the mountainous panorama across the lake.

"Oh, wow! This is so amazingly beautiful." she said, "Those mountains look as they came straight out of a fairy tale. They're so steep and rocky. You almost expect to see white castles perched on the lower hills."

"I assure you they're real." said Sid, "That's the edge of a block of the earth's crust which was forced up by enormous forces as two of the plates moved together."

"What's that black streak up the side of that mountain?" asked Caroline, indicating the outcrop that was Mount Moran.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's what's called the 'Great Black Dyke'." said David, "Perhaps Sidney might be able to enlighten us."

"I might be able to." said Sid, "From what I've been reading, it appears that as the block of crust was forced upwards, it cracked. These cracks allowed liquid magma to escape through them. It cooled into black basalt. That's what you see high up on that mountain."

"You're sounding as intelligent as you look, for a change." said Cassie, smirking.

"Cheeky!" commented Sid, "At least somebody reads the booklets about these places."

They spent the rest of the day driving around the various viewpoints in the national park, appreciating the scenery, and taking photos. A light lunch was enjoyed at a café a couple of miles away from the Jenny Lake Information Center towards the Southern end of the park. This was a pleasant place, as it overlooked Jenny Lake itself. During the afternoon, they travelled slowly back North, stopping at frequent intervals to take in the amazingly beautiful landscapes they were passing through, and record them on their cameras.

"This place smells a lot fresher than Yellowstone." Said Cassie.

"That's because we're not sitting on top of a dormant super volcano." said Sid, "We're not getting sulphurous fumes seeping out of the ground everywhere."

That evening, the two couples returned via Flagg Ranch Village to their hotel in Yellowstone National Park. On their final day at the park, they went around the 'figure of eight' circuit in the opposite direction from that which they followed two days previously. They visited some of the sights and geysers they had missed on their previous exploration. This meant that they watched 'Old Faithful' erupt in the evening, just before they returned to Grant Village and their last night in the park. To mark their last day together before they went their separate ways, they had a full steak dinner, and followed it with apple pie. David ordered a bottle of Californian medium dry red wine to drink with their steaks.

During the evening, Sid contacted the hotel in Salt Lake City, the details of which they had been given in Casper. Fortunately, the manager in Casper had already made contact, and his call was expected. The manager in Salt Lake City was expecting him, and judging by their references, said that he would be only too pleased to take them on. He said he would be expecting them the next evening.

The following morning, they breakfasted early, as they were to depart for their separate next destinations; Sid and Cassie South towards Salt Lake City, and David and Caroline, across the Idaho lava plain and the West Coast. Late in the morning, they reached Pocatello, and said farewell to their new acquaintances, promising to keep in touch, and set about finding a ride to Salt Lake City.

"Well, this is goodbye, at least for the time being." said Sid, "We're heading for Salt Lake City. What's your next stopping point?"

"I'm not sure." said David, "It depends where we get to this evening. Eventually, we want to reach California and see the big redwood trees there. Anyway, goodbye and good luck.

David drove them to a truck stop on the interstate highway I-15, which went South to Utah's principal city. Against all odds, their luck with rides was still holding. It didn't take them long to find a driver, who wouldn't mind their company on his way South. He said he was on his way to Los Angeles, which was the Southern end of the interstate highway they were on, the I-15.

He had only stopped for a coffee, as it was still morning, so there would be a halt for lunch after about two hours. In fact, since they reached their day's destination before two o'clock in the afternoon, Sid bought the driver his lunch at their halt in Salt Lake City, as some recompense for taking them down from Pocatello. Their driver very kindly took them to the hotel where they were intending to work for the next six weeks or so.


	11. Chapter 11: Salt Lake City

Chapter 11: Salt Lake City and the Canyon

Sid and Cassie's arrival in Salt Lake City was expected, but the manager of the hotel was quite surprised to see them so early in the afternoon. They had had good fortune in getting a ride down from Pocatello, and the journey had taken just over two hours. Even with a break for lunch, it was still only mid-afternoon when they arrived at the hotel. As on previous occasions, they were asked about their previous hotel and restaurant experience around the country, and were asked to give references from some of the places they had worked before Casper. When he heard from the managers in Orlando and Houston, they were taken on without any further questions. They were settled for the next few weeks. They were given their rotas and could now plan their leisure activities for the period they would be working in Salt Lake City.

Since it was late Summer, the weather was hot, and for the most part, sunny. Their accommodation, as before was in the basement, but fortunately, the air conditioning was working. The down side to this was that they would be totally unaware of the weather outside until they emerged onto the ground floor. The good thing was that there was little to disturb their sleep.

Sid and Cassie spent the first afternoon and evening checking how much co-incident time off they were going to have during their stay there. Although each of them had days off, not many of them coincided. Obviously, once they had bedded in after the first few days, they could arrange to, swap shifts with other members of staff. The other factor governing their planning was that there didn't, at least on the surface, seem quite so much to see as on some of their earlier work stays. Obviously, one of the buildings to be seen was the Mormon tabernacle, and they would, if possible, try to hear a concert by the World-famous choir associated with it.

While they were there, they did manage to see the Bonneville Salt Flats on which many land speed records were achieved. On one evening out, they engaged another British couple in conversation. This couple said they were going to spend a day at a German style beer festival held at a nearby ski resort. Sid showed some interest, but Cassie was slightly less than enthusiastic. The other British couple asked them if they would like to come. Somewhat reluctantly, Cassie agreed, because she realised that Sid was all for it. So, on their one occasion when they had two days free, they travelled to Snowbird Canyon with the other couple. Sid was surprised at the title of the festival: 'Snowbird Oktoberfest', since it was still only late August. He noted that the similarly titled festival in Germany didn't begin until late September, and only lasted two weeks. However, this one did go on for two months, from mid-August to mid-October, and provided the ski resort with some much-needed custom after the main Summer peak, and before the snow started falling. Also, Sid felt, it was a chance to enjoy the atmosphere of a German beer festival in a place where everyone, well almost everyone, spoke English. Despite her doubts, Cassie did enjoy the afternoon she spent at Snowbird, and neither of them got too drunk. While they were working at Salt Lake City, Sid and Cassie managed to attend a concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and two organ recitals.

They also had to think about their next move, which was intended to include a visit to both sides of the Grand Canyon. On the way there, Sid noted that Bryce Canyon was not too far out of the way. Once they had decided on their date of departure from Salt Lake City, Sid could reserve rooms in the National Park hotels at Bryce Canyon and on both rims of the Grand Canyon. Sid checked his map. He assessed that, once they got a ride, it would take four hours to reach Cedar City, their most likely point for changing rides. They would probably have to spend a night there, while they found someone willing to take them the relatively short distance to Bryce Canyon. In reserving the hotel rooms, he had taken into account that the journey from Salt Lake City to Bryce Canyon would probably take two days.

The journey to Cedar City was pleasant and reasonably uneventful. Their driver, who was taking some building materials from somewhere up North to, ultimately, Los Angeles was a bit more talkative than some of the drivers on their previous rides. He was also full of questions about England, and how a lovely young couple from there found themselves roaming around America. Like the earlier drivers, he found the story of Sid crossing the ocean to find his Cassie very touching.

"You two must really be in love." he commented.

In the evening the couple arrived at Cedar City and found a room for the night. After they had made themselves at home, they went out for a meal and an evening drink. As they walked across the parking lot to the adjacent diner, Sid noticed something familiar about one of the cars parked there.

"Haven't we seen that car somewhere before?" he asked.

"I think we have." said Cassie, "Isn't that the one we were in through Yellowstone?"

Their question was soon answered. As they entered the diner, the other British couple they'd met in Casper had also just arrived and were just ahead of them in the queue for a table.

"Could you make that a table for four?" asked David as one of the waiters approached.

"Okay! That's fine." said the waiter, I'll see what I can do."

He returned almost immediately, and showed all four of them to a table. They settled down and perused the menus. They discussed their adventures during the previous few weeks over a meal and the drinks afterwards.

"Hello you two." said Sid, "Where have you been travelling while we've been working?"

"We did make it to the West Coast." said David, "We saw a couple more old volcanoes, Crater Lake and Mount Lassen, before going to Yosemite National Park and Los Angeles."

David filled in a few more details about their travels in Oregon and California including their days riding the coasters in four of the theme parks in the Los Angeles area. Cassie was fascinated by David's description of the big redwood trees in Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks. Sid reminded her that there was a cross section from one of these trees in the Natural History Museum in London.

David and Caroline were spending one night at Cedar City before visiting Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon on their way back to Denver. They had visited Zion National Park the previous day after spending a short time, and losing some money, in Las Vegas.

Sid and Cassie told the other couple about their ideas for the next few days. David offered them a ride as far as the Grand Canyon Village on the South rim.

"That's so kind of you." said Cassie, "We'd love to come, if you can put up with us for the next few days."

"Of course we can!" said David, "We'd welcome some company. Anyway, what did you two get up to in 'Mormon Central'?"

Sid outlined the activities they had enjoyed in Salt Lake City, not forgetting the cultural events and the German style beer festival.

"That's something we wouldn't have expected there, of all places." said David, when told about the beer festival. "Perhaps we'll go to the real thing in Munich sometime."

After a convivial evening spent comparing notes on their recent activities, the two couples took to their bedrooms. When they had walked across the parking lot, they realised they were in adjacent rooms. They agreed on a waking time, and that whoever was up and dressed first would wake the other couple if necessary. Now that their travel plans for the next five days were settled, Sid could relax and not think about the immediate future too much.

The following morning, it was Cassie who was up and about first. She knocked on the adjacent bedroom door, and got a "We're almost ready." In reply. In the bright morning sunshine, they strolled across to the diner for breakfast. Since, for Sid and Cassie, the previous morning's breakfast had been, to say the least, a sketchy affair, they both indulged in hearty American meals, with pancakes and maple syrup with omelettes. David and Caroline had similar meals as their breakfast immediately before their visit to Zion National Park had also been a light one. Fully satisfied, all four stowed their luggage, climbed into the car and started out on the morning's drive to Bryce Canyon National Park. On the way there, they encountered a hill which caused David to wish he'd chosen a manual car. The auto transmission hunted a couple of times between two of its ratios before he forced it into the lower one.

They arrived at the hotel at lunchtime, and were able to check in. Once their bags were in the bedrooms, they could have a light lunch, and set out to see the park. Cassie was amazed by all the sharp pinnacles, some of which had chunks of hard, dark grey rock on top of them. Once they were satisfied with this view, they set out for the Southern end of the park, where they were able to look down the 'staircase'; three enormous shelves of rock, leading to the North rim of the Grand Canyon. Their lungs were, by this time completely accustomed to the reduced amount of oxygen in the air at this high altitude.

Having made the most of Bryce Canyon during the afternoon, they returned to the hotel and its associated diner for the evening. Over drinks after dinner, they discussed what they had seen during the day, and their separate future plans.

"Where are you two going after the Grand Canyon?" asked David.

"We plan to spend a couple of days in Flagstaff." said Sid, "After that we're quite flexible."

"What is there to detain you in Flagstaff?" asked David.

"In short, two astronomical features." said Sid. "There's the Lowell observatory, and the Barringer meteor crater. We might even try to look for work in Flagstaff."

"I've heard about the meteor crater," said David, "But I was never sure where it was."

"It's about thirty-seven miles outside Flagstaff." said Sid, "It's where a large meteorite hit the earth about fifty thousand years ago. It's about three quarters of a mile wide and over a thousand feet deep. It's been preserved because the area has been either covered in ice or desert for most of the time since the impact."

"What's special about the Lowell Observatory?" asked Caroline.

"It's the place where the planet Neptune was discovered." said Sid, "The telescope used in that discovery is still there, and there is a scale model of the solar system in the grounds."

David and Caroline had a brief discussion about their plans after the Grand Canyon, and decided that they had a couple of days spare before their flight home, which would otherwise have been spent revisiting some of the attractions in metropolitan Denver.

"Would you like it if we tagged along with you to Flagstaff?" asked David.

"We would." said Cassie, "Because that works to both our benefits. You'd get to see these additional attractions, and we would get transport too the crater."

"That's settled then," said David, "We'll all book two nights in Flagstaff. After that, we'll set off towards Southern Utah and the various parks there, and you two can either look for work or set off towards the West Coast."

"That seems fair." said Sid, "We haven't decided finally where we're going afterwards. We'll either go West to Las Vegas and Los Angeles, or South to Phoenix, and San Diego."

"If it helps you to decide," said David, "I'm told that San Diego Zoo is well worth a visit. There's also a 'Sea World' there. It's also a major US naval base."

"I think that decides it." said Sid, "After Flagstaff, we'll be going to Phoenix. Is that okay with you, Cass?"

"If that's what you want, Sidney." said Cassie, with a slight hint of ennui in her voice, "I think it's time we found our beds,"

With this, the two couples headed for bed, and looked forward to a relaxing night, before taking one last, early morning, look at Bryce. Then they would then embark on the long drive to the North rim of the Grand Canyon.

The next day dawned cloudless, with one of the deepest blue skies Cassie had ever seen. They drove to the point where all the stone pillars so characteristic of Bryce Canyon could be seen, photographed the morning view, then set out Southwards. As they headed West out of the National Park towards the main highway, a small white cloud materialised in the Western sky. At the time, they didn't think a lot about it, but it presaged a day of less settled weather than they had enjoyed for the last few days. As they drove towards their next overnight stop, it was clear that cloud was building up and rain was possible. As they were driving along the highway towards the North Rim hotel, they were trying to outpace a thunderstorm. They were just able to check in and get to their rooms when the rain and hail started.

Fortunately, the storm only lasted about three quarters of an hour. It was still early afternoon when they were able to drive round to one or two of the viewpoints on the North Rim. As they looked across the canyon, they could see 'their' storm, and its associated cumulonimbus cloud retreating Southwards on the light Northerly wind. Now that the storm had passed, it appeared that the weather was going to be set fair for the rest of the day.

The four people spent some time appreciating the view, before driving to another viewpoint, where there was a triangular hole through a rock promontory. By this time, the sun was sinking lower in the Western sky, so they returned to the North Rim hotel for dinner, and a few drinks. Later in the evening, they found a spot where there were no lights and looked up at the now clear night sky. It was now time for bed.


	12. Chapter 12: The South Rim

**Chapter 12: The South Rim**

The following morning, after breakfast, they set out on the relatively long drive to the South rim of the canyon. An early lunch stop was made at the Glen Canyon dam, where there is a large hydroelectric power station. Cassie wondered at the force with which the water was emerging from the outlets.

"The Grand Canyon is between two large artificial lakes." observed Sid, "This one is Lake Powell. If we were going to Vegas, we'd have seen the other one, Lake Mead."

"Hasn't anyone thought of making the Grand Canyon itself into a reservoir?" asked Cassie.

"Somebody might have thought about that, but it is a UNESCO World Heritage site," said David, "To say nothing of the loss of tourism to Arizona, if the canyon was just a big lake."

"It would provide plenty of energy from renewable sources though." said Sid.

"I think Lakes Powell, Mead and Havasu provide plenty of that," said David, "Without drowning one of the world's most spectacular places."

Once they had consumed lunch, and spent the best part of an hour in the Glen Canyon visitor center, it was time to move on. As they joined the road along the South rim of the Grand Canyon, David switched on the car radio, and by chance, found a Flagstaff based classical music station. The presenter announced the next piece of music: the 'Grand Canyon Suite' by Ferde Grofé.

"How appropriate!" said Caroline, "Exactly the right piece of music."

Especially appreciated were the 'On the Trail' and 'Cloudburst' movements depicting the donkey ride and the storm. The latter truly reflected the ferocity of the thundershower they had experienced on the North rim on the previous day. There was still plenty of daylight when they reached Grand Canyon Village and checked in to their hotel for three nights. This meant that they could visit some of the South Rim viewpoints before dinner, and see the sunset afterwards.

When the group returned to the visitor center, they booked a forty-five-minute helicopter flight over the canyon for the next day. They also picked up some information about the Barringer Crater they were to visit while they were in Flagstaff. After a well anticipated dinner, they settled in a bar for a couple of hours, before going outside to look at the Northern stars from a viewpoint on the edge of the Canyon.

"The Plough must disappear completely later in the year." said David, "It's already quite low."

"Perhaps that's why the Americans call it 'The Big Dipper'." said Cassie, "It 'dips' in the Winter."

"That's quite a witty one from you." said Sid.

They spent some time discussing the stars visible from various latitudes for a while. Sid mentioned that he thought the ancient Greeks believed the Earth was a sphere, because the night sky looked different from the Southern parts of their known world. After a while, Cassie was feeling the cold, as the temperature was falling fast.

"Let's go somewhere warmer." she said, "I don't know about you three, but I'm feeling the night chill."

"Okay!" said David, "Time for one more before we turn in."

"That's a good idea." said Sid, "Look upon it as a kind of Nightcap."

They returned to the bar, and David ordered a round of drinks.

"Let's hope the weather stays calm for the next couple of days." said David, "We'll need good visibility tomorrow for our flight over the Canyon."

"And the crater will look better in sunshine." remarked Sid, "If we have something like yesterday's storm, we won't even be able to see across it."

"That's a point." said Caroline.

Once they had finished their drinks, all four headed for their bedrooms. As Sid and Cassie were preparing for the night, Sid felt he had to comment on something he had sensed about Cassie's demeanour.

"Sweet Cass," said Sid, "I hope you don't mind me asking, but there seems to be a weariness about you the last couple of weeks. It's worrying me. What's the matter? You know you can tell me."

"It's nothing." said Cassie, "I'm just wondering where we're going."

"We're going to Phoenix," said Sid, "Then we'll head for the West Coast; either Los Angeles or San Diego."

"I didn't mean it that way." said Cassie, "I meant that I was wondering where our relationship was going. Have we a future as a couple, for instance?"

"Of course we have." said Sid, in an attempt at reassurance, "I couldn't envisage a future without you somewhere in it. We're part of each other. I don't think we could last long apart; either of us."

"Anyway, my dear Sidney," said Cassie, "Don't worry about it. I was just letting my thoughts run away with me. Let's go to bed. I want to feel your warmth under the covers."

Discussions about their future gave any to the pleasure of enjoying their intimate presence with each other in the American size bed. They slept in the loving warmth of each other's gentle arms till dawn. At eight o'clock, as they were preparing for their first whole day at the Grand Canyon, there came a knock on the door. David and Caroline were already up and about, and hungry for their breakfast.

"Good morning," said David, as Cassie opened the door, "Are you two ready?"

"As we'll ever be." said Sid from within the bedroom, "What time is our flight?"

"We're to be at the heliport at half past nine." said David, "I guess you're excited."

"I certainly am." said Cassie, "How's Caroline? She seemed a bit worried on the walkway last night."

"I'm not worried about the helicopter." said Caroline, "Last night, it was looking straight down over that cliff that worried me."

All four made their way to their breakfast, and consumed similar meals to what they had enjoyed at the North rim the previous morning, except that Sid had bacon and onions with his omelette. After some wake-up coffee, they drove to the heliport and waited for their flight to be called. At about a quarter past nine, a Bell helicopter landed and the flight was announced over the PA system. They went out and boarded the helicopter. Once they had been allocated seats, strapped themselves in and donned the headphones, the craft took off.

As they took off, the pilot announced that he was no longer allowed to fly below the canyon rim, following a problem many years ago. However, there was a lot visible from the helicopter, which couldn't be seen from the ground. He showed them the main features of the canyon, describing the ages of the rocks visible at various levels on the canyon walls. He also outlined the history and some of the mythology of the local native Americans, the Hopi. When he had done this, he flew upstream, and spent some time circling over the mouth of a spring on the canyon floor, banking this way and that, so that all passengers could get a good view of it. He said it was where the Hopi believed that they emerged from the depths of the Earth. As he flew away from the spring, he mentioned, in passing, that anyone who looked down the spring had a curse laid on them.

"That's not very reassuring." said Caroline.

"Well," said Sid, "The pilot seems okay, and he must have looked down it hundreds of times."

Shortly after eleven o'clock, the craft returned to the heliport, and the four travellers disembarked. They returned to the village, and spent the hour or so before lunch exploring the visitor Center and the immediately accessible parts of the rim, including the place where they had watched the stars on the previous evening. It was plain that they had Made the right decision to take the helicopter flight in the morning, as clouds were developing and it looked as if rain might be imminent.

Having had substantial American breakfasts, the two couples opted for salads for lunch, but none of the four could resist the temptation to have apple pie as a dessert. By the time they emerged from the diner, rain was falling steadily, and the sky was completely overcast.

"I thought this place was in the middle of a desert." said Cassie, "Why is it raining?"

"I guess that's the Hopi curse from the spring." said Sid, half joking, "Still, it shouldn't last long. It doesn't rain all that much here."

They returned to the visitor Center, and obtained a weather forecast for that afternoon and the next two days. The rain was expected to clear about mid-afternoon, and the following two or three days should be clear and bright. The two couples found somewhere to relax over cups of coffee, and planned what they were going to do later that afternoon and the following day.

"I think we've seen most of what there is to see from this part of the rim." said David, "We drove through the Painted Desert and along Desert View Road yesterday, so I suggest we go to Grand Canyon West and try the skywalk. We'll have to book in advance, so I'll do it now if that's okay with you."

"We're in favour." said Sid and Cassie together, "It sounds an interesting experience."

"What's the skywalk?" asked Caroline.

"It's a horseshoe shaped 'bridge' cantilevered out over the canyon," said David, "So you can view it from a point away from the cliff. Apparently, you look four thousand feet straight down."

"I'm not so sure," said Caroline, "But I guess I'm outvoted."

"That's settled then," said David, "I'll make the booking. In any case, there are a few other things to see there, including Native American cultural shows and the history of the other tribes besides the Hopi."

"It should make for an interesting day." said Sid.

David produced his mobile phone and made a booking for four people at Grand Canyon West for the following day. By the time they had finished their coffees the rain had cleared, and the sun was shining again. They took advantage of this by spending the rest of the afternoon at the Hermit's Rest viewpoint, which is accessible from the village. This gave them another perspective on the part of the canyon visible from the village. By the time the two couples returned to the main village complex, it was nearly time for dinner, but there was time for a coffee beforehand. They had used a shuttle bus to get to Hermit's Rest and back.

After dinner, since there were assorted clouds in the sky, the wandered out to a point on the rim where they could watch the sunset. It didn't disappoint. Cassie thought the colours in the sky were more brilliant than any she'd seen in England, but she seemed sad when it was over.

"What's the matter, Cass?" asked the ever-solicitous Sid, "Why the tears?"

"Sunsets are beautiful," said Cassie, "But they always mark the end of something, and I find that sad; all that beauty fading away to gloom and darkness."

"Cheer up," said Sid, "There's always tomorrow."

"Is there?" said Cassie, sadly.

"That's a miserable comment." said Sid, "I suggest we go inside and find some light. I believe there is a country band playing in one of the bars."

With this, the four people went into a bar where they could hear music playing. Sid ordered a round of drinks, and they settled down to enjoying the music for the rest of the evening. When Sid and Cassie reached their bedroom, Sid showed some concern.

"What came over you earlier?" he asked, "The sunset doesn't usually have that effect on you."

"I don't really know." said Cassie, "I just had a little wave of depression wash over me. It'll pass. Incidentally, the Country and Western music didn't help my mood. Most of the songs were about couples breaking up."

"That, I'm sorry to say," said Sid, "Is a recurring feature of that genre of music. Don't forget that some of ABBA's best songs were about the ending of relationships. Don't forget 'Knowing Me Knowing You' and 'The Winner Takes All'.

"I suppose so." said Cassie, with some resignation, "Let's look for sleep."

Sid and Cassie, took to their bed and spent the night in each other's warm embraces.

They were up early the next morning, as the return journey to Grand Canyon West is quite long. David and Caroline were also up and about by seven o'clock in the morning. Both couples had a relatively quick breakfast and set out for their destination. Cassie had recovered from her bout of depression, but Caroline looked worried. Once they had reached Grand Canyon West, the first thing they headed for was the skywalk. David had to hold Caroline's hand to reassure her that it was perfectly safe.

"When we get on to the skywalk," said David, "Don't look at your feet. Look over the rail. Try to forget that you're walking on a sheet of glass. It is transparent, but it's really thick. It'll support many times your weight."

"I suppose so." said Caroline, "It wouldn't have been opened if it wasn't safe."

They all filed out onto the skywalk. Despite David's advice, Caroline did look straight down through the glass floor, and surprisingly, enjoyed the feeling of apparently floating in space while standing on something solid, but invisible. They spent some time on the skywalk, appreciating the views both straight down through the glass and across the canyon. After this they went to the Visitor Center and noted what else there was to see at this part of the canyon rim. By now, it was lunchtime. They finalised their plans for the afternoon over lunch.

The highlight of the afternoon was a Native American cultural show. After this they visited the Hualapai village and the exhibits depicting the lives of the original inhabitants of this part of Arizona, including the Plains Hopi, the Hualapai, and the Havasupai tribes.

They returned to the South Rim village in time for dinner and another spectacular and colourful sunset. Fortunately, there wasn't a repeat of Cassie's bout of depression, and she appeared to enjoy the coming of the night. This was probably because Sid was holding her while she watched.

Once the sun had gone down, and the colours had faded to grey, both couples went in to the bar to discuss final arrangements for their next move.

"Where shall we go first?" asked David, "The observatory, or the crater."

"That depends on where we get beds for the two nights." said Sid, "If we're near the observatory, we'll go there tomorrow afternoon, otherwise, we go to the crater. The weather should be pleasant for the next two days, so either option is okay by me."

Since their exact plans could not be finalised until they knew where they were going to lay their heads, they spent the rest of the evening in fairly inconsequential chat, mainly about their experiences around the Grand Canyon. The main surprise was Caroline actually enjoying the skywalk. She usually opted out from such activities. They went to their rooms comparatively early, as they were beginning to feel sleepy after their day of fresh Arizona air.

"Sid," said Cassie as they entered the bedroom, "What do you think you would have been doing now if you hadn't come to New York to look for me?"

"I don't really know." said Sid, "I guess I'd probably be living with my mum and looking for a job."

"And desperately looking for someone to take my place?" suggested Cassie.

"I don't know about that." said Sid, "I don't think anyone could replace you in my life. You're too special."

"I'm not all that special, Sid." said Cassie, "I'm just an ordinary girl with a barrow load of problems."

"Most of which we've overcome, just by being a couple." said Sid, "Anyway, why this line of questioning. You seem to be having doubts about the future of our relationship. You're worrying me."

"I just got to thinking, while we were watching the sunset two nights ago." said Cassie, "I was thinking what might have happened to me if you hadn't shown up in 'my' diner that evening."

"You are having dark thoughts for a bright part of America." said Sid, "I think we're both tired. Let's sleep. It's been a long day. We'll both feel happier for some rest."

"I suppose you're right." said Cassie, "I'm probably worrying my head over nothing. Let's go to bed."

With that, Sid and Cassie shared a much needed shower, and once again spent a comfortable night in each other's arms.


	13. Chapter 13: Flagstaff and Beyond

**Chapter 13: Flagstaff and beyond**

Very early the next morning, all four travellers were up, ready and having a last look at the Grand Canyon before breakfast. Having had their fill of the view, all of them went in to the diner and had the nearest thing to a 'full English' that they could assemble. On this morning, they included cereals and orange juice as well as coffee. The reason for the early start was so that they could drive South to Flagstaff, and check in to a hotel before deciding which of the local attractions to visit first.

As they checked out of the hotel, Sid was still concerned about Cassie's state of mind the previous evening.

"How are you feeling this bright morning?" asked Sid.

"Happier for spending a night together." said Cassie, "I don't know why I'm having these doubts about us, but they keep recurring."

"Try not to worry about it." said Sid, "Our love should help us to get through this."

As the car travelled along the road South across the Coconino Plateau away from the Grand Canyon, Cassie commented about the landscape.

"If I was an explorer going across this land in the other direction," she said, "I think the canyon would be a major surprise. It's so level. You wouldn't expect anything so spectacular."

"And that mountain looks out of place." said Sid, "It makes me think of Mount Erebor in 'The Hobbit'."

"I don't think there's a dragon living under it though." said David, "But Erebor wasn't called 'the Lonely Mountain' for nothing."

After a while, the landscape became more mountainous. They had left the Coconino plateau behind and were passing the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountains in Arizona. This was a sign that there was not much further to go before they reached Flagstaff. When they arrived there after a two-and-a-half-hour drive, they were pleased to find a motel with ample parking at the foot of the hill leading up to the Lowell Observatory. They checked in for two nights.

"I think that settles what we're going to visit first." said David, "The Lowell Observatory is just up that hill."

"Shall we walk, or take the car?" asked Caroline.

"We've all been sitting still for a couple of hours." said David, "I suggest we have lunch in that diner, then walk it off by going up the hill."

Having made their decision, all four strolled across to the adjacent diner, and enjoyed their lunch, while discussing the next day's target, the Barringer Crater. After a comparatively early lunch, they were able to join a tour of the observatory and learn about some of the work still being carried out there despite the proximity of the city of Flagstaff and all its lights. By the time they had finished the tour, the sky was completely clear. This pleased all four travellers as it meant that that they could come up here again after dinner. The next tour they embarked on was entitled 'The Story of Pluto', which covered the discovery of this remote little object, which has now been demoted to the status of being a dwarf planet. This tour was again only forty-five minutes, so they stayed on for the four o'clock solar observation demonstration. During this, they had the opportunity to view the blindingly brilliant surface of our nearest star through a specially adapted solar telescope. Fortunately for them, there were a number of sunspots, which made the observations more interesting.

By the time they returned to the hotel, they were all in need of a rest. Walking up and down the hill, and strolling around the observatory had proved quite tiring, so they made themselves comfortable in their rooms for just over an hour, by when it was time for dinner. During the dinner, Cassie observed the staff at work, and began to wonder if Sid and herself could spend a few weeks working here before going down South to Phoenix.

"You seem to be watching things very closely." said Sid.

"Yes," said Cassie, "This seems an interesting place. I was just wondering if it might be worth making a stop here for some work."

"You did say we might pause here for a few weeks." said Sid "We do need to earn some more money. The Grand Canyon was quite expensive."

"We'll be having breakfast here tomorrow and the next day," said Cassie, "I'll make some enquiries before we set out for the crater."

The sky was still cloudless when they had finished dinner, so they drove back up to the observatory and experienced some of the evening activities, including viewing some celestial objects through the telescopes. These included both the 'Ring' nebula and the 'double-double' star, both in the constellation of Lyra, as well as some star clusters.

Now that Cassie was trying to plan her immediate future employment prospects, there was none of the self-doubt that had plagued their previous two bedtimes. She seemed more confident and surer of herself. This pleased Sid, as her recent comments had given him something to worry about, which was the last thing he wanted. Sid and Cassie spent a peaceful, and for a change, worry free night in each other's gentle arms. They slept peacefully until dawn.

At eight o'clock the next morning, there came a knock in their door. It was Caroline, dressed and ready to go, suggesting it was time for breakfast. The four of them made their way to the diner for the meal. At breakfast, Cassie made enquiries of the duty manager as to whether she could find work there. She was told to come back later. She explained that she was going with her friends to the meteor crater and wouldn't be back till late afternoon. The duty manager said that would be perfect, and asked about her previous similar employment. She gave details of some of her recent short-term jobs, particularly at Salt Lake City. The duty manager said he would have these followed up by the time she returned from the crater.

After their meal, they set out on the drive along the interstate highway to the Barringer Crater. Sid explained that about fifty thousand years ago, a nickel-iron meteorite about a hundred and fifty feet across hit the earth, causing the crater to be formed. Fortunately for visitors, the crater was preserved from erosion by the area being desert for most of the time since the impact.

"Where did you get all this information?" asked Cassie.

"I read the leaflet about it in the hotel reception while you were still in the diner looking for work." said Sid, "There are a few interesting places around here, but we've been to the big one, the Grand Canyon."

"Are you going to look for work?" asked Cassie.

"Yes." said Sid, "I've got it in mind to see the hotel management when we return from the crater. Hopefully, we'll both have been offered jobs for the next few weeks by dinner time."

"That would be good." said Cassie, "How long do you feel we should stay here?"

"At least three weeks." said Sid, "If it's not going to get too cold, I'd like to be in Flagstaff for six."

"My thoughts exactly." said Cassie, "Then we can think about getting to the West coast."

After about an hour of driving, a good proportion of was spent threading their way through the Flagstaff traffic, they reached the crater, parked, and entered the Visitor Center. There, they gathered even more information about the large number of small objects floating at random around the Solar System. The first thing they did was to look at some of the various items on show round the exhibition area before going in to the widescreen cinema to view the videos. They viewed the crater from some of the more accessible viewpoints, before booking a crater tour for the early afternoon.

By this time, it was midday, so all four of them ambled into the 'Blast Bistro' for a light lunch. At two o'clock it was time for their tour of the crater, during which the guide explained the history of the crater, the local climate when it was formed, and the reasons why it is so well preserved. He did mention that over the fifty thousand years since it was formed, erosional forces had reduced the height of the walls, and filled the bottom of the crater with alluvial debris. Immediately after the impact, he said, it would have been an even more impressive feature. He mentioned in passing, that the violence of the impact was the equivalent of a twenty-megaton bomb being detonated.

After the 4D 'Collision experience' Sid, Cassie, David and Caroline, spent a bit more time strolling around the Visitor Center before returning to their car and the city of Flagstaff. It had been a very interesting, and tiring few hours in the Visitor Center and around the Crater, and it give some pause for thought.

"What's the chance of something like that happening again?" asked a slightly worried looking Cassie. "After all, it would completely wipe out any city it hit."

"Fortunately," said Sid, "Very little of the world is cities. Most of it is ocean. Having said that, something about the same size exploded before hitting the ground in a remote corner of Siberia in 1908."

"Did it do any damage?" asked a still worried Cassie.

"It did flatten about eighty million trees over about two thousand square kilometres." said Sid, "But it was in such a remote corner of the world, so very few people were affected."

"That was over a century ago," said Cassie, "Has anything happened more recently?"

"There are stories of an impact over the Amazon basin not very long ago, but nobody's found the crater." said Sid, "Anyway, don't worry yourself about it. If it happens, it happens, and there's nothing any of us can do about it. There have been a few films about asteroid impacts, 'Armageddon' and 'Deep Impact' come to mind, but, as I said, there's nothing ordinary people like us can do."

"I suppose so." said Cassie, "I'll try not to lose any sleep over it."

They returned to their hotel at Flagstaff at about four o'clock in the afternoon. Cassie went to see the management of the diner about her mention of a possible job offer that morning. The result was even more positive than she expected. Not only had the manager contacted their previous employers in Salt Lake City, but had obtained favourable reports about both Cassie and Sid from the hotels and diners they had worked at in Denver and Jasper. They not only offered Cassie at least three weeks work on the spot, but told her to inform Sid that the adjacent hotel would benefit from his services. The added advantage of this was that their accommodation would be provided for the period they worked there.

Sid, acting on this advice, went to see the hotel management. They had already been told about him by the manager of the diner. He, also was offered similar work to that he had carried out in Salt Lake City. They were given their rotas and Sid was provided with accommodation. The couple were settled for a few more weeks before they went South, then West to their hoped-for ultimate destination, Los Angeles. They were given their rotas and decided to spend the time immediately before bed comparing them and noting when their days off coincided.

Once their employment prospects had been sorted out, they went back to their room and prepared for dinner. They had arranged to meet David and Caroline before the meal, and have a pre-dinner drink. They went downtown for what was definitely going to be their last evening together. After breakfast the next morning, the other couple would be driving back to Denver via some of the national parks in Southern Utah.

The two couples spent a convivial evening in a somewhat higher-class restaurant in the centre of Flagstaff before retiring to a bar and comparing notes about their experiences in the USA. At the end of the evening, they exchanged contact details and promised to keep in touch.

The two couples used a cab to get back to their hotel. As they parted for the night, they agreed on a time for breakfast. Sid and Cassie, as they had already decided, compared their rotas, and found that they only had one coincident day off in the first two weeks, although they did have quite a few afternoons free together.

They spent their free time exploring the city and visiting attractions that they hadn't seen yet. On their one day off, they visited a local Native American site, a little way out of the city. They also made one or two more evening visits to the Lowell Observatory.

Sid and Cassie's stay in Flagstaff was to last for six weeks, before Cassie felt that cold weather was on the way. It was largely uneventful, but Cassie was having more frequent doubts about the future of their relationship. Sid was getting to wonder whether she was doubting his overwhelming love for her. It wasn't that they were having major disagreements about things, but the atmosphere between them seemed to be cooling slightly. As neither of them could put their finger on what was wrong, the situation was allowed to continue without either of them doing anything very much about it. Sid hoped that it was a temporary phase Cassie was going through, and it would blow over in about a month.

At the end of the fifth week in Flagstaff, Cassie was feeling restless, and wanted to move on. In any case, Autumn was advancing, and the temperature in this relatively high-altitude city was dropping. Both Sid and Cassie advised their managers that they were moving on.

At last their day of departure arrived. They collected their pay. By chance, the previous evening, they had met someone who would be travelling to Phoenix that day and offered to take them, provided that they didn't mind stopping at one or two of the more interesting places along the way. These would include the misnamed 'Montezuma's Castle' and the experimental eco-city of Arcosanti. They would also be going by the pretty way via Sedona. Obviously, this would add an hour or two to their journey time, but they would still be in Phoenix by late afternoon. They agreed to meet in the diner at breakfast.

Their driver and his wife were as good as their word. At half past eight, all four of them were sharing a four-seater table in the diner and discussing what they were going to see on the way to Phoenix. Sid had the song: 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix' going round and round in his head as they walked out to the car.

At about half past nine, they started on the leisurely, scenic drive to Phoenix. They wouldn't be joining the interstate highway until after they had visited Arcosanti. Their first stop was at Sedona, where they browsed some of the shops and appreciated the multi-coloured rocks on a nearby cliff. By the time they reached Montezuma's Castle, it was now late morning. As they had had a relatively late breakfast, they decided to delay lunch until they reached Arcosanti.

Montezuma's Castle is a bit of a misnomer, as it isn't a castle, and has nothing whatever to do with Montezuma. It is, in fact, a collection of cliff dwellings built by the Sinagua people, a tribe who lived there between 1100 and 1425 AD. Some of the present day Hopi and Yavapai people trace their ancestry back to the people who used to live in this part of Arizona. Cassie gasped with amazement when she saw these dwellings, which had been carved out of the solid rock over six hundred years ago.

"Well, this was certainly unexpected." said Sid, as he also wondered at the construction.

Once they had appreciated this 'National Monument', the group moved on to Arcosanti. This was a more modern and Eco-friendly way of setting up a city in the middle of the Arizona desert. Both Sid and Cassie were impressed by the place, which was designed to be sustainable. Since they had arrived there at about half past one, the first place they headed was to the café, where they enjoyed a late lunch. After this, they spent some time in the Visitor Center, and joined the three o'clock tour. This meant that they didn't come away from Arcosanti until about a quarter past four.

Reaching Phoenix at about six o'clock in the evening, the first priority was to find a bed for the night. They thanked their driver for the ride down from Flagstaff, and he recommended a hotel in the city, and dropped them off there. They booked a room, initially for one night, with the option to stay on longer. Neither Sid nor Cassie had yet decided whether they were going to seek work there. Sid had decided, however to do something about the state of his relationship with Cassie. He felt that would have to make his move later that same evening before things got out of control. He didn't realise it at the time, but the result of his action would affect both their lives for years to come.


	14. Chapter 14: The parting of the Ways

**Chapter 14: The Parting of the Ways**

After a rather longer journey down from Flagstaff than they had anticipated, Sid and Cassie had arrived at a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona and had booked a twin room for, initially, one night. They had two options. They might look for work in Phoenix, or alternatively continue their journey to Los Angeles. After making themselves at home in the room, they set out to a nearby diner for their evening meal. The lunch at Arcosanti had been a relatively light one, and both of them were hungry. After the meal, they intended to discuss their futures over drinks. During the last part of the journey down the interstate highway, the weather had changed. Gone was the unbroken sunshine they had experienced on the way down through Sedona, Montezuma's Castle and Arcosanti. Clouds had come over from the West, the air felt oppressive, and a storm threatened.

The prevailing weather did nothing to improve Cassie's mood. After all the walking about at the three places they had stopped at on the way from Flagstaff, she was beginning to feel tired. Sid, on the other hand couldn't be more cheerful. Although he felt hungry, he was all for exploring the immediate vicinity of the hotel and the diner just before they had dinner. This was quite fruitful as he found a bar just behind the diner where they could go after the meal.

"At last!" thought Cassie, as Sid finally returned to the diner and she could sit down.

They did just about enjoy a three course American dinner: starter, main course and dessert. That is, they enjoyed the food, which was good. Cassie had loaded potato skins as a starter, which did to some extent, temper her mood. Both had steak and fries, followed by apple pie and coffee. However, there seemed to be a tense atmosphere between them, which wasn't helped by the gathering storm outside.

Once the coffee was finished and Sid had paid, they walked the short distance to the bar, found a couple of comfortable seats and ordered their first drinks of the evening. They had arrived there just in time, as the first drops of rain were beginning to fall.

Sid opened the discussion.

"Cass," he said, "You haven't quite been your usual bright self recently. It's worrying me. Is anything wrong?"

"I don't think so." said Cassie, "I'm just beginning to wonder where we're going in our relationship. I still love you, and I regard you as someone who has had a huge positive effect on my life, but I'm beginning to wonder where we can go from here."

She took a sip from her Cointreau.

"I was hoping this might be a passing phase." said Sid, "After all you've had these phases in the past, and you've usually got over them in a week or so, but this has been going on for a couple of months."

"I know, Sidney dear," said Cassie, "But this time, there seems to be a voice telling me that you're not fully committed to me."

"You can put thoughts like that right out of your head." said Sid, "You're my inspiration, my reason for living. I don't think I could even imagine a life without you somewhere in it."

"You might have to." said Cassie, sadly, "I won't be around for ever."

"Now you are really worrying me, Cass." said Sid, "Tell me, what is really the matter."

"It's nothing really." said Cassie, "I'm probably fretting over nothing. I just had this feeling that you were losing interest in us as a couple."

Sid decided to take a desperate action. He knew that this would be 'make or break', but he felt he would have to do it anyway sooner or later. He had originally thought that he would wait until they reached Los Angeles, and, hopefully, were thinking of going home to England, but the atmosphere on this evening was such that he felt he had to make his move. Outside, the storm had broken, the lightning was frequent, the thunder continuous, and the rain torrential.

"What about this?" said Sid, "I love you. In fact, I love you more than anything or anyone else in this world, and I believe you love me. For the past couple of years, we've been an inseparable couple. We understand each other. There's almost a psychic link between us, and I don't want to throw all that away."

"So?" said Cassie.

"So," said Sid, "Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? In other words, will you marry me."

"No, Sidney." said Cassie, "I won't. It's not that I don't love you. I do. It's just that I'm not ready for that sort of thing."

"But..." commenced Sid.

"There's no 'but' about it, dear Sidney." said Cassie, "I don't want to marry you, and I've got another suggestion. That is that we should part company now and never see each other again. If you really love me as a person and not just as some personal companion, you should agree to this idea. If we stayed together, it would have to be for ever. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I'm sorry."

Sid was shattered by this bombshell. All the hopes and dreams he had had since he first met Cassie now lay in ruins. He was speechless for a while. It didn't help that the James Taylor song 'Fire and Rain' happened to be playing on the juke box. The line 'Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground' occurred just as Cassie had made her suggestion.

"I - I don't know what I can say to change your mind." said Sid tearfully.

"Don't say anything." said Cassie, with a neutral expression, "Tonight, we'll sleep, and tomorrow, we'll go our separate ways. If when I wake up in the morning, I find I've changed my mind, I'll let you know, but don't live in too much hope. Don't get me wrong. We've had good times together, and I don't regret anything about the last couple of years. It's been wonderful. The last few weeks, I've come to the conclusion that we've come as far as we can, and it would be better for both of us if we went our own ways."

"If that's your decision," said Sid, "I feel I must respect it. I still love you and it's going to be a wrench leaving you. I shall have to be strong and try to live without you, but it won't be easy. I really hope and pray that you've made the right call."

The couple walked sadly back to the hotel, and to their bedroom. The storm had now passed and all was quiet. A full moon shone down from a clear sky.

For the first time since Sid had found his sweet Cassie in the New York diner, they slept in separate beds. It took some time for Sid to actually get to sleep, but he eventually gave in to his tiredness. Sleeping alone without Cassie's warm body next to him was now an unfamiliar feeling, but he knew he would have to get used to it. He was hoping against hope that the morning would bring about a change of heart from Cassie. It didn't.

Morning came, and the couple showered separately. They prepared for the day as individuals, but Cassie felt she had one more thing to sort out with Sid. She made him make a solemn pledge that he wouldn't attempt to contact her once he had seen her off at the Greyhound bus stop. She made the same pledge, and they both deleted each other's contact details from their phones. After this, they went together to the diner for breakfast.

"Well," said Cassie, "This is our very last meal together. How are you feeling."

"Very sad that it's come to this." said Sid, "I don't suppose there's any chance you'll change your mind."

"No, Sid," said Cassie, sadly, "My mind Is set. It's been building up to this for about two months, so a change isn't going to happen this morning."

Cassie booked a through ticket on the Greyhound bus network to New York. She had decided to use the bus rather than hitch, as a young woman on her own would be vulnerable. Sid went to the bus stop with her, and they had a long passionate goodbye kiss, before she boarded the bus, intending never to see Sid again. Sid, once he had said his sad farewell to the wonderful girl he had up till now thought was destined to be his lifetime partner, made his way to a truck stop on Interstate I-10, and managed to get a ride all the way to Los Angeles. When he got there, with due regard to the eight-hour time difference, he called his mum in Bristol. She picked up.

"Hello, mum." said Sid, "I've got some very sad news. I've broken up with Cassie."

"What happened?" asked Liz.

"For the past couple of months," said Sid, "She's been questioning the future of our partnership. Last night, it came to a head. I proposed to her, and she turned me down. Then she said that we should separate, and each go our own way. She made me promise never to try to look for her again."

"Where is she now?" asked Liz.

"Probably on a greyhound bus well on her way back to New York." said Sid.

"And, where are you?" asked Liz.

"I'm in Los Angeles, not far from the airport." said Sid, "I'm about to start looking for a flight back home to you."

"Where did you say Goodbye to her?" asked Liz.

"In Phoenix Arizona last night." said Sid.

"Well," said Liz, "Let me know when you're going to get here, and I'll be expecting you. I'm sorry to hear that it didn't work out, Cassie was such a lovely girl, and I thought you two would be a perfect couple. Anyway, as I said, let me know when you're coming. Bye bye."

"Bye!" said Sid, "Love you."

Sid booked a flight to Bristol via Amsterdam for two days later, and booked himself into a cheap motel for two nights. He was now on his own, and had little to think about apart from the ending of his intense loving relationship with Cassie. The next day, the desolation of his situation struck home, and he realised what life without Cassie would be like. His thoughts could never stray far from her. She had been his inspiration and an essential part of his life for two years, and now she was gone. He was gutted.

On the way back by Greyhound bus to New York, Cassie was able to hold herself together for a couple of days, but then the enormity of what she had done in separating from Sid hit her with the force of a wrecking ball. Now she was experiencing life without his presence in it, she realised she had made the wrong decision in Phoenix. However, she had made a solemn pledge not to contact him and she always kept her promises. By the time she arrived on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and called in at the Alias Restaurant, she was totally distraught. Fortunately for her Adam was still there and was on duty that evening.

"Hello, Cassie," said Adam, as he came to serve her, "You look dreadful. What's happened?"

"Oh Adam," said Cassie, tearfully, "I've made a catastrophic mistake. I've broken up with my lovely Sid for no good reason. I feel terrible. Adam, please help me."

"I don't know whether I can help you," said Adam, "But I'll see what I can do. You look as if you really do need a sympathetic shoulder."

She stood up and embraced Adam, bursting into tears. She couldn't hold her emotions in any longer. Adam realised she really was at the end of her tether. He asked to be excused for the remaining two hours of his shift, and escorted the heartbroken Cassie to his apartment.

"Cassie," said Adam, as Cassie's crying began to subside, "What's happened to you? You were melancholy when I first met you, but this is something else. You can tell me."

"It's all my fault." said Cassie, between sobs, "I've destroyed something beautiful. I so deserve to be punished."

"Oh, Cassie," said Adam, "You don't need punishment. You need help and consolation. What's happened since I saw you two in Iowa. You were such a beautiful loving couple then. Here, let's have something soothing to drink."

Adam prepared two large mugs of hot chocolate, and gave one to Cassie.

"Tell me the story of your adventures since we last met." said Adam, "I'm sure there's a lot to tell; what roller coasters you've ridden, the natural wonders you've visited, and what your friendship meant to you at the time."

Cassie related the story of her life with Sid after the couple had left Iowa some time before. She told him all about the Space Center in Houston and the theme parks they had visited together. She was really enthusiastic about the wonders of Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and the Grand Canyon. She also told Adam about the British couple they had met twice during their travels and the other young couple who had gone out of their way to take them to the Barringer Crater.

"You've had some wonderful times," said Adam, "And it appears you've met some marvellous people in your travels. You were almost glowing when you were talking about Yellowstone. Incidentally, did you see 'the Devil's Tower' when you were in Wyoming?"

"Yes, we did," said Cassie, almost smiling, "It was amazing. Since we'd both seen 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', it meant something to both of us."

"You're sounding brighter already," said Adam, "So I'm not going to force you to tell me, but what seemed to you to be going wrong?"

"I don't really know," said Cassie, "But I started to have these little bursts of insecurity from about Yellowstone onwards. I mentioned them to Sid, and he seemed to understand. He reassured me of his love. Despite these reassurances, the feelings seemed to intensify."

She paused, and took a gulp of hot chocolate.

"Go on." said Adam.

"By the time we got to Phoenix," said Cassie, "Sid decided to bring things to some sort of conclusion. I think he was getting as frustrated as I was over my doubts and insecurities."

"What happened in Phoenix?" asked Adam.

"After some serious questions about our relationship," said Cassie, "He proposed to me."

"That sounds very positive." said Adam, "He must really love you. What did you do?"

"I turned him down flat." said Cassie, "That was my first mistake."

"Your first one?" said Adam, "What was your second one?"

"I must have been in one of my 'hate everything' phases," said Cassie, "Because I must have been out of my mind. I said we should go our separate ways and never meet again. The next morning, after we'd slept in separate beds, I made him solemnly promise never to try to look for me. I undertook to do the same. We deleted each other's contact details and headed off in opposite directions. I think he went to Los Angeles, and I came here. Sid has a credit card, so I guess he's flying home to his mum by now. A couple of days later, it hit me what I had done. I'm never going to hear his voice or see him ever again. Oh Adam, please help me to find a way out of this. I've thrown away my only hope of real happiness. Please, Adam."

Cassie burst into tears again, sobbing convulsively. Adam held her gently until she had calmed down sufficiently for him to talk to her.

"What a torrent of words." said Adam, "There is a way out of this, Cassie, but it would mean breaking your promise to never contact him again. He won't know where you are, but you're almost certain he's gone home to Bristol. Is that so?"

"Y - yes, but," began Cassie, hesitantly and tearfully, "I'm reluctant to break my pledge."

"That's your decision, but you won't need to take it immediately." said Adam, "I suspect you are going to have to find some work to pay for your flight home, so you've got a few weeks."

"I suppose so." said Cassie resignedly, "I'll just have to leave things to fate."

"That might be the best thing." said Adam, "Fate has a way of producing unexpected positive as well as negative results."

"I suppose I'll have to accept that." said Cassie, "I hope you can put up with me for a few more weeks."

"That's no trouble. Of course I can!" said Adam, "In any case, I could do with some friendly company, and you really need someone to keep you from going over the edge."

"I suppose I'll have to accept my fate." said Cassie, "I brought this on myself, so I'll just have to take the consequences."

"Don't be too downhearted." said Adam, "I have a feeling deep down that you'll see him again. I don't know how it's going to happen, but I believe you will find happiness with your sweet Sid. It may take a couple of years, so please be patient."

"I'll try." said Cassie, "Anyway, I'm tired."

"You know where to find the bed." said Adam, "Get some sleep. We'll go down to the diner in the morning and see if we can find a job you. Work will take your mind off things."

"Oh, thank you so much Adam, and goodnight." said Cassie as she made her way to the bathroom to prepare for bed.

For the next few weeks, Cassie resumed her role as a waitress at the Alias Restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, sharing an apartment with Adam. This time, he stayed by her side, giving her morale a boost from time to time, when she needed it. Once she had earned enough for a flight back to England, and a little bit over, she returned to her home country. Because of her promise to herself not to look for Sid, she decided to settle in London. She found a cheap bed-sit in Hampstead, and a job as a waitress in a local café.

Meanwhile Sid, as expected, returned to his mother's home in Bristol. He applied for, and obtained a post as an 'Administrative Assistant' in the Human Resources section of an obscure department of the United Kingdom Home Office.


	15. Chapter 15: The Road to Togetherness

**Chapter 15: The Road to Togetherness**

Sid had returned to the United Kingdom a very dejected young man. He had just spent two blissful years with the one person he felt was going to be his perfect lifetime partner, his ideal girl. He had proposed marriage to her, and she had turned him down. Those are the basic facts of the case. However there was more to it than a bungled marriage proposal. Cassie had decided to terminate her relationship with him, and made him promise solemnly never to look for her. To this day, he was not a hundred percent sure that she really intended to abandon him, and he nursed a faint hope that she might, after realising what she had done, change her mind and try to make contact with him. He didn't know where she was, but he had indicated to her that he would probably return to his mother in Bristol.

Once he had returned home, his first priority was to get a job, as he would need to restore his finances and support his mother. He scanned the local papers, and after a while found something which looked like suitable employment for someone who considered himself to be quite an 'ordinary', unexciting person; the post of an administrative assistant in a government office. After an interview, he got the job. He didn't realise it at that time, but his choice of employer was a turn of fate which would eventually have positive life-changing results for him. The department he worked for was a new section of the Home Office. As he was a very junior clerk in the 'Human Resources' office, he was given very little information about how this section fitted in with the rest of the organisation.

He was still deeply depressed, and thoughts of his sweet Cassie were never far away from him. He had what seemed to be an unfillable Cassie-shaped void in his heart. To say he missed her would have been a gross understatement. For two years, she had been his inspiration and his life. Nowadays, he felt he was merely existing. What kept him going was the thought that, some day, Cassie might – just might break her pledge and come looking for him.

The other thing he did was to resume some of his old friendships. Tony and Michelle had gone to their separate universities and came back home to Bristol together whenever they could. They were still an item and were now engaged to be married. This, Sid felt was somewhat bittersweet, as they, after many setbacks, were now committed to each other, and would soon be married, while he had now lost his potential life partner, possibly for ever.

Tony, of course, being the person he was, tried to set him up with female friends of his, but none of these could ever come anywhere near replacing Cassie.

The months passed. Sid threw himself into his job, performing with great enthusiasm. His work was recognised by his managers, and he was beginning to be considered for promotion. Of course, his job served to occupy his mind, and reduced the recurring yearnings for his Cassie, at least while he was in the office.

Of course, being of an inquisitive nature, he did browse through the internal telephone directory, partly to see if he recognised the names of anyone he knew. Two things in it intrigued him. One was that some of the names had the abbreviation 'MoM' under the 'Department' heading. He wondered what this might mean. The other was a particular name in the 'MoM' department, which to him seemed to be more appropriate for a porn model. He spent time wondering what she might be like. That August, he was to find out.

To occupy his mind during lunchtimes, he had taken to walking around the immediate vicinity of his office, also browsing the shops in the nearby Cabot Square shopping centre. When he was there, he couldn't resist trying to look at the face of every blonde girl his age he passed in case, by chance, she might be Cassie.

One Friday lunchtime, the following August, he spent longer than he intended in Cabot Square. He was rushing back to the office, when he rounded a corner at speed, and collided head on with another pedestrian. She was a quite small but very pretty girl, with long ash blonde hair, large expressive ice blue eyes and a beautiful smile. Surprisingly, she didn't seem too upset, about the collision, but Sid did still apologise profusely as he helped her back to her feet. The sound of her voice, her smile and her gentle Irish brogue captivated him. As a result he felt even more guilty about his clumsiness than he would have, had she just sworn at him and walked off. When she gave him her name, he realised who she was; the young woman in the 'MoM' section with the suggestive name, Luna Lovegood. He felt he had to make amends in some way. He offered to buy her a coffee after work. She accepted his offer. As he watched her skipping along towards the shops, he felt a sense of wonder and euphoria he had not experienced for a very long time. He began to believe he had found a new friend who might just begin to relieve his deep depression.

After work that evening, Sid met Luna to buy her the coffee he had offered after their lunchtime accident. At the Cabot Circus Costa coffee shop, once they settled down, they got talking. They exchanged their stories and realised that they had a lot in common. They had both separated from the people they most loved. They both felt lonely. They were both wishing that they hadn't left their former partners. As the evening progressed, Sid and Luna felt more and more comfortable with each other. Initially, Sid didn't believe her when she said she was a witch, but he accepted this when she informed him that 'MoM' stood for 'Ministry of Magic', and that she was a junior liaison officer. This revelation didn't put him off. If anything, it increased his developing affection for her. After their coffees, they went up to Brandon Hill, then enjoyed some fast food at a slightly unusual burger bar. Sid commented that it wasn't a very romantic place for their first dinner together, but it would have to do.

By Saturday evening, they had found out so much about each other that they began to think of themselves as a couple. The more Sid interacted with Luna, the more he began to think of her as his girlfriend. Although a solid foundation was being laid for this new relationship, Sid still had frequent longings for his previous girlfriend Cassie, and it was obvious that Luna would never forget her Neville. They both accepted that their previous relationships could not be ignored, but they would have to make allowances for them.

As he felt that his new association with Luna was not yet secure, he kept it to himself for a couple of months, so he was on his own when Tony and Michelle invited him to an evening out just before they started their final year at university.

In late December, Tony and Michelle returned from their respective universities for the Christmas break. As they usually did when they came home, they invited Sid to a meal. When he accepted their invitation, he asked if he could bring a friend. A surprised Tony said he could, but didn't enquire about the friend.

Tony and Michelle were already seated in the restaurant when Sid walked in with a smiling Luna on his arm. Tony gasped, and Michelle just looked, open mouthed.

"Wow, Sid!" said an amazed Tony, "You've kept very quiet about her. When did you meet her?"

"I felt I had to be sure about her before I let anybody know." said Sid, "She's Luna Lovegood. I met her in August. She works in my office in the centre of Bristol."

"Well," said Tony, "I must congratulate you for finding a 'second Cassie' without my help."

"Tony!" said Michelle, reprimanding him, "Sid's perfectly capable of choosing his own friends. Anyway, Sid, how did you meet such a lovely person."

Luna blushed at being called 'lovely'.

"I don't expect you to believe this," said Sid, "But I literally bumped into her in the street."

"Yes," said Luna, grinning, "He came charging round a corner and knocked me over. He apologised, of course. I accepted his genuine apology. We got talking, and you could say 'the rest is history'."

Luna told them about her separation from Neville, her travels in search of fantastic creatures around the world, particularly in South-East Asia, and the reasons for her coming to Bristol. Her light, gentle voice, her lively expressive eyes, and her open, honest smile captivated Tony and Michelle. Tony later commented that Sid seemed to have really landed on his feet when he befriended Luna. The more time Sid spent with Luna, the more he realised that she was like Cassie in so many ways. On one or two occasions, he even called her 'Cass'. However, there was still a little corner of his heart that would always be devoted to his love for the real Cassie.

Meanwhile, in London, Cassie was merely existing in her role as a waitress in a small Hampstead café. She lived her life from day to day, trying not to betray her deep sadness at breaking up with the boy she felt would become her lifetime partner. At the café, there were two of the kitchen staff showing an interest in her. There was Yaniv, an Israeli ex-soldier, who only wanted her for sex. The other one was Jakob. His interest in her was more complicated. He worshipped her from a distance, because he felt she was beautiful, which she was, but he had no sexual interest in her. She befriended him, but after a while, realised he was absurdly possessive. These two relationships came to a head one evening, resulting in Yaniv beating up Jakob and leaving him unconscious and bleeding in the middle of the road, while Cassie walked away from both of them. She did have second thoughts, turned back and took the injured Jakob to A and E at the nearest hospital. As for Yaniv, he left the café the next day, and was never seen there again. The relationship between Cassie and Jakob became just that of work colleagues, rather than friends.

One of Cassie's favourite occupations at this time was people-watching. One sunny afternoon in August, she was sitting on her favourite bench at the top of Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath, when a tired looking young man came up from the direction of one of the Highgate ponds and asked her if he could share her seat. Feeling exceptionally lonely that afternoon, she was only too pleased to accommodate him. They exchanged names. He was Neville Longbottom. They started a conversation during which he commented that she was looking very melancholy and that there must be a reason for this. They told each other about their lives. Cassie found the young man's story about the girl he loved going abroad while he had to stay in London heartbreaking. He told her about the Ministry of Magic and about the witches and wizards living among the general population of the United Kingdom. He also commented that she was so perceptive that she might well have magical people in her family, if she went back a couple of generations. After their conversation on the park bench, they both went for a coffee. By the end of the evening, they regarded each other as friends. By December, they were a couple.

Cassie continued working in the café, but made it known to Jakob that she was now in a stable relationship with a wizard. He didn't altogether believe this, but had assumed that she must have formed a good friendship with someone quite special. It was obvious that she was happier almost from the moment that she had met Neville. She had a 'glow' about her. Her eyes were brighter and she was smiling a lot more. In fact, she was really happy, and her happiness was contagious. The whole atmosphere in the place was brighter during her shifts. For a few months, Pete's Café was a cheerful place. As a result, the custom increased considerably.

Sid and Luna in Bristol, and Neville and Cassie in London were both happy and apparently settled in their new relationships. The two couples were completely unaware of the existence of each other, and seemed to be heading towards being two pairs of potential lifetime partners. However, fate had a trump card to play. Early the following March, the wizarding partners were invited to a liaison conference to be held between the London and Bristol offices of the Ministry of Magic. It was to be held at a large country house called Highclere Castle, about halfway between London and Bristol. The wizarding delegates were strongly recommended to bring a companion. Naturally, Luna would bring Sid, and Neville would go to the conference with Cassie. The one situation both Neville and Luna were keen to avoid was meeting their former lovers with their new partners. They were very hesitant about accepting the invitation, but Cassie and Sid respectively persuaded them to accept. Cassie said that she had a 'good feeling' about the conference, and felt that nothing bad was going to happen there. At the beginning of April, Luna had a prophetic dream about in which she saw that Neville's partner would be Cassie. Cassie's 'good feeling' and Luna's prophetic dream were enough to persuade the two couples to go to the conference and accept whatever happened.

The weeks slowly passed. Eventually, in early May the delegates assembled at Highclere Castle for the Ministry of Magic Annual Liaison Conference. The two couples didn't actually meet each other until after the dinner on the first evening in a Newbury hotel. When they did, the atmosphere of sheer joy and elation was tangible. Sid and Cassie fell into each other's arms kissing and shedding tears of absolute joy as they realised just how much they had missed each other. Neville and Luna had a similar ecstatic and tearful reunion. Both Sid and Neville realised that they had now rediscovered their true ideal partners. As they left the hotel bar on the first evening of the conference Neville and Sid exchanged bedrooms, so that they could be with their old partners. The boys swapped, rather than the girls, because they were living out of their suitcases, while the girls had filled the hotel bedroom wardrobes.

At the conference, both couples acted on the motto 'Carpe Diem'. On the Thursday, there was a closed session for witch and wizard delegates only. The companions were offered some of the other activities offered at Highclere Castle. Sid and Cassie, now once again a couple, opted for a tour round the locations featured in Richsrd Adams's book 'Watership Down using four wheel drive vehicles. This ended with a picnic lunch with sparkling wine on Watership Down itself, before returning to Highclere Castle for the afternoon session. Cassie had indicated to Sid in the. hotel bedroom on their first evening together that if he asked her the same question he had asked in Phoenix, the answer would be 'Yes'. Just before the lunch on Watership Down, Sid proposed to his Cassie. This time she accepted. The sparkling wine went down very well.

Sid and Cassie weren't the only couple to commit themselves to each other that lunchtime at Highclere Castle. The morning closed session ended early, so Neville took Luna to a Grecian temple style folly in the grounds, and used a silencing charm to suppress the traffic noise from the nearby A34. He then conjured up the sound of two competing nightingales, and having created a suitably romantic atmosphere, proposed to Luna. She too accepted his proposal.

At last, after many 'bumps in the road', and not a few wrong turnings, Sid had, at last, committed himself to the one person he intended to be his lifetime companion, his ideal girl; his sweet and lovely Cassie. Now that their new wizarding friends Neville and Luna were now also engaged to be married, it was certain that the two couples would become a quartet of exceptionally close friends as they all knew each other so well.


	16. Chapter 16: Epilogue

**Chapter 16: Epilogue**

During the course of their partnership, Neville realised that Cassie was special in a number of unusual ways. She was exceptionally perceptive and appeared to be able to predict the future almost as well as Luna. At the Highclere Castle conference it was suggested to him that it might be worth investigating Cassie's immediate ancestry. He helped Sid to do this. He discovered that she carried at least three eighths wizarding blood. Since her little brother had the same family tree, this qualified him for a wizarding education at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft.

Following their engagement on Watership Down, the couple started planning their future. Cassie left the café in Hampstead and took up a waitressing job at a restaurant in Bristol, so that she could spend as much time as possible with her darling Sid. Since marriage was now a certainty, the couple rented a flat in Ashton Vale and moved in together. By coincidence, this flat was next door to the one rented by the Ministry of Magic for Luna. This was a marvellous outcome, as Sid, Cassie, Neville and Luna were now a quartet of intimate friends. They felt that living in close proximity really enhanced their quality of life.

Now that Sid and Cassie were committed to each other, there was no need for any animosity between Cassie and Michelle. The last of the 'ice' between them was finally dispersed at a dinner party in the flat occupied by Neville and Luna. After the meal, the men and women went into separate huddles. Luna persuaded Michelle and Cassie that there was no point in nursing their differences, especially now that there was no reason for Cassie to be jealous of Michelle. Both had found their ideal partners, as had Luna, and had no reason to look elsewhere. Cassie and Michelle once again became firm and loyal friends. Cassie was also in need of a good female friend, as Katie, her clinic roommate and very best friend had moved away to London to obtain promotion in her career.

An interesting piece of news about Katie was that Maxxie Oliver had met her in London, and was now living with her. The couple had visited Pete's Café the week before Cassie went with Neville to the Highclere Castle conference. When she came to serve them, she asked how they came to meet, and wished them well.

In due course Sid married his Cassie in St Mary Redcliffe Church in Bristol. They not only invited their own family and friends from the Bristol area, but also included some of the wizarding friends of Neville and Luna. They were included as Sid and Cassie had already been invited to Neville's wedding at Shell Cottage a few weeks later.

Sid invited Tony to be his best man, and Michelle was the chief bridesmaid. She preferred that title to 'Matron of Honour', which to her seemed a bit frumpish. Sid and Cassie had performed the same roles when Tony married Michelle at the same church a few weeks earlier. Also invited was Adam from New York, who had played a vital part in consoling Cassie when she had arrived back in New York, totally distraught, after breaking up with Sid. Among Cassie's other wedding guests were Maxxie Oliver and Katie, Cassie's old roommate at the eating disorder clinic. They had met each other in London and had become a couple. At the reception, Maxxie and Katie announced that they too were now engaged, much to the surprise of nearly everyone present.

The next wedding to happen was that of Neville and Luna at the rebuilt Shell Cottage. For the next three years, they would be living next door to Sid and Cassie. As they were such good friends, they often spent evenings together and shared meals. Cassie, having taken Sid's job after his promotion to Administrative Officer, was now working in the same office as the other three. Sid, the only complete muggle among the four friends, learnt a lot about the ways of witches and wizards. He came to appreciate the good features of magic, and did not raise any objections when Cassie's little brother went to Hogwarts for his secondary education. For the time being, for Sid and Cassie, life seemed good.

Nothing lasts for ever, however. At Hogwarts, Pomona Sprout became due for retirement, and Neville was to be her replacement as Professor of Herbology. He had kept abreast of his specialist subject during his time as a Ministry of Magic auror, so he was still qualified. This meant that Neville and Luna would have to move five hundred miles North and would no longer be close neighbours of Sid and Cassie. However, every cloud has a silver lining. At Neville's wedding, Michelle had a long and deep conversation with Hermione Weasley and formed the basis of a strong friendship. It helped that Ron got on well with both Sid and Tony. After Neville and Luna left for Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione were nominated as their replacements. Since Luna was still a liaison officer with the Ministry of Magic now based in the Hogwarts office, she still had to visit her former colleagues in Bristol at relatively frequent intervals. When she apparated down from Scotland, Neville often came with her, and if time permitted, Sid, Cassie, Ron, Hermione, Tony, Michelle, Neville and Luna went out together for a meal. These occasions of togetherness were particularly joyful as the group comprised four couples, who were very good friends with each other, and all four boys knew deep down that they had met and married their 'ideal girl'.

As, once again, life seemed settled for at least the foreseeable future, Sid and Cassie could begin to think about the next generation. In Scotland, Neville and Luna were thinking along the same lines. In due time, Luna had a pair of non-identical twins. She named them Lorca and Lysander. Not long afterwards Cassie gave birth to a daughter, and named her Hermia. About a year afterwards, Hermione's child, Rose, was born. The arrival of these four children within a matter of about six months made Michelle feel 'broody'. A couple of years later, her daughter came in to the world. She was named Cassandra Elizabeth in respect for two young ladies who had helped to keep Tony on an even keel when his life seemed to be drifting out of control following his accident with a bus; Cassie, who had given him sage advice when her Sid was dating Michelle, and, of course, his sister, Effy.


End file.
